The former King of Spain Juan Carlos I, exiled since August 2020 in the United Arab Emirates after accusations of embezzlement, will return for the first time in two years to his country on Thursday, the Royal House announced on Wednesday.
Juan Carlos communicated "his decision to go to Spain from May 19 to Monday May 23", indicates the Royal House which specifies that he will stay in Sanxenxo, in Galicia (north west) and that he will also see his son King Felipe VI Monday in Madrid, before returning to Abu Dhabi.
This visit falls within the framework of the "desire of His Majesty Juan Carlos to travel regularly to Spain in order to visit his family and friends" in a "private" setting, concludes the press release from the palace while the possibility that the former monarch stays in an official palace has drawn criticism in the country.
More and more compromising revelations
A central figure in the democratic transition after the death of dictator Franco in 1975, Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 amid scandals, left Spain for Abu Dhabi in August 2020 after increasingly compromising revelations about his train of life and the opaque origins of his fortune.
He then explained that he wanted to "facilitate" his son Felipe VI "the exercise" of his functions in the face of "the public consequences of certain past events in (his) private life".
The three investigations targeting him in Spain were finally dismissed in early March, paving the way for his possible return to Spain.
Even before the exile of Juan Carlos, Felipe VI had decided in March 2020 to renounce the inheritance of his father and to withdraw his annual allowance of nearly 200,000 euros.
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juan carlos
Spain
Monarchy
Exile
Malfeasance
Emirates