• Juan Carlos I anticipates a return to public life after his victory over Corinna in the United Kingdom

King Juan Carlos I flies to Vigo to participate in the Barceló Challenge regatta. It is the sixth trip that Felipe VI's father has made to Spain since he decided to leave the country on August 3, 2020. But it is the first one - with the exception of the visit to Madrid for the coming of age of Princess Leonor - in which he makes a stopover in another city, instead of flying directly to Sanxenxo.

Don Juan Carlos will arrive in the Galician city after four o'clock in the afternoon, in a private plane from Vitoria, where he had landed this Monday at 11 a.m. from Geneva. Thus, the King Father spent the whole morning in the Basque city, before returning to the airport and taking another plane, at three in the afternoon, with final destination Vigo.

This is the second time this year that Felipe VI's father has visited Vitoria. He went there last April in order to stay in the clinic of Dr. Eduardo Anitua, who has been looking after his dental health for decades. It is possible that this new scale is again related to a query to Anitua.

The plane that Don Juan Carlos used to get to Sanxenxo has been making small trips around Europe all week, from England, through France and Italy. Although it is unknown which of these flights the Emeritus was on, it is confirmed by EL MUNDO that the Geneva-Vitoria route was made by Juan Carlos I, and that the same plane remained at Vitoria airport until three o'clock in the afternoon on Monday, when the King's father reboarded to reach Sanxenxo. After leaving the Emeritus in Vigo, the plane is scheduled to make one last trip today, at five o'clock in the afternoon, to Madrid.

In an exercise to normalize his visits, Don Juan Carlos has fulfilled his desire to increase the frequency of his trips to Spain. Thus, last September, Felipe VI's father stayed in Sanxenxo for a whole week. There he was visited by his daughter, the Infanta Elena, and his sister, the Infanta Margarita. On October 6, the British courts shelved Corinna's lawsuit against the Emeritus, whom she accused of harassment. In a statement, Don Juan Carlos said that this decision "restores the necessary conditions for new public appearances."

At the end of the month, the King Father made a brief visit to Madrid to participate in the celebration of the coming of age of Princess Leonor. The Emeritus travelled to the capital during the day, had lunch in Zarzuela with Queen Sofia and together they arrived at the Palace of El Pardo, where the Princess's family party was held. At eleven o'clock in the evening, Don Juan Carlos left the enclosure accompanied by Jaime de Borbón Dos Sicilias and took a flight to London.

In Sanxenxo they were waiting for him tomorrow, Tuesday 21, however, Don Juan Carlos decided to bring forward his arrival to this Monday. Felipe VI's father will stay as usual at Pedro Campos' house and lead a normal life. On Wednesday begins the training for the Barceló Challenge, the 6m class regatta in which the Emeritus' team participates with the Bribón, which since this afternoon remains moored at the dock of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo. These are the last regattas of this year as sailing takes a break for Christmas, before resuming its activity at the end of January 2024. On Sunday the regatta will end and Don Juan Carlos will complete a week's stay in Spain. Since leaving the country, he has never spent more than a week in a row in the country.

  • Juan Carlos I
  • Sanxenxo