• Princess Leonor will swear the Constitution before the Cortes on October 31 and Don Juan Carlos will go to the private party in El Pardo

The visits of Juan Carlos I to Spain have been a reflection of how relations with his son went through better times and worse ones. The father of the King begins this Monday his fourth trip to Spain, again to Sanxenxo, where he plans to stay all week to participate in the Rey Juan Carlos I regatta, a competition to which he arrives after validating the title of world champion of sailing in his category and weeks before a family reunion that will normalize relations with the Crown.

The father of the head of state landed at Vigo-Peinador airport 35 minutes after one o'clock in the afternoon, in a private plane registered in Malta. Accompanied by the usual security personnel who are always with him, Don Juan Carlos has been received by Pedro Campos and, as in previous trips, they have headed to the house of the president of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo to rest after the flight.

Don Juan Carlos faces a whole week in Sanxenxo, and it is the longest period he has spent so far in the city. The competition does not start until September 29, and will be three days, until Sunday, October 1, when they finish. Don Felipe's father will then be able to return to Abu Dhabi or, on the contrary, visit some other Spanish city.

The most complicated moment of these days will occur on Thursday, when Don Juan Carlos will be only 15 kilometers from his son. Felipe VI will preside over an event that day on the island of La Toja and, although he has no more agenda, there is no meeting planned between the two.

The King's father left Spain in August 2020 to settle in Abu Dhabi, where months later he set his tax residence with the idea of traveling frequently to Spain. However, the first visit to the country he captained for 39 years did not occur until May 2022, and it was not in the best conditions. Because Don Juan Carlos, tired of waiting, unilaterally decided to come to Spain, and visit his friends in Sanxenxo first.

That trip ended at the Palacio de la Zarzuela, where he had "ample time of conversation" with Felipe VI, where the head of state explained the damage that his actions had caused to the Crown. Don Juan Carlos then made an examination of conscience and put an end to the leaks from his environment. Everything was calm and controlled, however, the second visit of the King evidenced the lack of communication between the parties.

Juan Carlos I again unilaterally decided to participate in a regatta in April in Spain. At that time Spain was in pre-electoral campaign for the regional elections of May 28. Zarzuela wants to avoid using the Crown as a partisan element, so they asked the Monarch to avoid returning before the elections, alerted by the media noise of his first visit.

The Emeritus took note of his son's request for discretion, a desire that he had also expressed in the statement in which he established his tax residence in Abu Dhabi, and spent the days in Sanxenxo without exposure or statements. The formula worked, even Don Juan Carlos in Spain and visited a clinic in Vitoria to pass a medical examination. On July 26, the King participated in his third regattas in Spain, while his son did the same in Palma, captaining the Aifos in the Copa del Rey Mapfre de Vela.

This fourth visit is the definitive normalization of his trips to Spain, without great expectation and with the promise ahead of participating in a family reunion. Because Don Juan Carlos will return to Madrid on October 31 to be present at the private party that the Kings have organized in the palace of El Pardo on the occasion of the 18th birthday of the Princess of Asturias.

  • Juan Carlos I