They met in 1958, during the voyage of the Emeritus on the Juan Sebastián Elcano school ship. I sent him letters that never came
Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos, closer than ever after retirement
The weeks that Don Juan Carlos spent in 1958 as one more in the end-of-year trip of the Spanish Marines aboard the Juan Sebastián Elcano is an experience he will never forget. First, because the King Father was treated as one more by the rest of the crew, second, by the frustrated affair that remained of memory of the months at sea.
As is tradition, Elcano leaves Spain every year to make a trip in which they touch land in different countries of America, where the marines of the school ship attend receptions and parties after weeks at sea, with no more novelty than to see the faces daily. In 1958 Elcano's plan was not changed and Don Juan Carlos embarked with his companions to America. One of the stops was in Lima (Peru). There, at the official reception, the Peruvian authorities chose a partner unmatched in beauty to entertain the then Spanish prince during the reception. They decided that Gladys Zender, who a year before had been named Miss Universe, shared a while with Don Juan Carlos.
"I met him in 1958 during a dinner offered in his honor when he arrived in Lima aboard the Juan Sebastián Elcano school ship"; Gladys recalled in 2014 in an interview with Vigo's lighthouse . "I was lucky to be the official couple that accompanied King Juan Carlos to that dinner. On the days he was in Lima, numerous events were organized and I was always invited to accompany him," he confessed. When the scale of the school ship in the Peruvian capital was over, Gladys and Don Juan Carlos said goodbye after "making a beautiful friendship ," the model said. However, the relationship could be cooled by guilt, nothing less, than Franco.
In the last book published by José Bono, the session is adjourned, who really commands? , the former minister says that Don Juan Carlos told him that during the eternal days at sea he wrote long letters to Gladys . When Elcano touched down in Panama, he delivered the letters to a colleague to send them through the embassy. The consul of Spain in Panama, however, sent the letters to Franco, truncating the love story and causing a problem for the Emeritus. "Once I returned to Spain, I went to greet Franco, and the general told me: 'Highness, we must improve in spelling, I have seen many mistakes in his writings.' When I tried to justify, Franco replied that it was not a missing, but many, reminding me of the offenses to the dictionary that were contained in the letters that I addressed to the Peruvian . I went ashamed, and I have not forgiven that the consul of Spain sent those letters to Franco, "says Bono in the book.
Although the affair did not get forged by diplomatic interests, Don Juan Carlos, who four years later married Doña Sofía, resumed contact with Gladys, who married the politician Antonio Meier . "When he became King, he visited Lima several times and, together with my husband Antonio, we saw him every time he came. We had the opportunity to talk with him many times and remember old times. The last time I saw him was in 2008 , during the Latin America, Caribbean and European Union summit, when my husband was already mayor of San Isidro, the financial district of Lima, "Gladys recalled.
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The model had four children after getting married. One of them, Christian Meier, is a soap opera actor well known in America. At present, the one who could be queen of Spain enjoys a quiet life with her 13 grandchildren.
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