Juan Carlos de Borbón upsets his son with his second visit to Spain | It is not expected that Felipe VI will receive the former king, who has been living in the Emirates since 2020

from Seville

Since he ascended the throne of the Kingdom of Spain in 2014, then The loss of prestige caused by financial disorganization and bedroom problems prompted his father, Juan Carlos I, to abdicate for your own good, Philip VI He devoted a large part of his efforts and the powerful machinery of the House of King to rebuilding the shattered social credit of the Bourbon monarchy. Every time the former monarch — the titular king according to the protocol title he has been treated with since his abdication — returns to the forefront of the media agenda, the product of all this effort ticks several boxes.

Something like this will happen on Wednesday, when the Spanish media will once again show the image of Juan Carlos de Borbón limping and presenting his relaxed lifestyle as if it were information about On charges of the Saudi monarchy, complaints about pressure on an ex-lover have turned into a figurehead YesThe hustle and bustle of bags from Switzerland did not accompany him.

The ex-King, or King Emeritus, will return to Spain, as he did last year about this time, to attend some regattas in the Galician town of Sansenxo and in the measure conducted in London he has already made such a push that he has no intention of concealing his way of life or responding To discreet appeals that, according to some Spanish media, departed from the Palacio de la Zarzuela, seat of the monarchy.

On the eve of his second return to Spain, he was seen at Oswald’s Exclusive Club, It is located in the center of the British capital, and its members include Queen Consort Camilla Parker, Prince William and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Later, he attended the match he faced in the Chelsea stadium, the local team with Real Madrid, for the Champions League.

And all this in spite of that The annoyance this second trip raised in La Zarzuela, who after the first visit had already asked Juan Carlos for more discretion on future trips. According to various Spanish media, in Casa del Rey they are considered This trip was inconvenient, as the municipal and regional elections (to be held on May 28) were approaching. turbulent political environment.

On the previous trip, Felipe VI and Juan Carlos held a private meeting after which father and son met again at two funerals, the funeral of Elizabeth II of England and the funeral of the dethroned Constantine of Greece. On this occasion, the acting king is supposed to distance himself from his father and there will be no meeting.

On the contrary, Casa del Rey seems to have moved its apparatus and hardly knows any details of Juan Carlos’ visit. It is only known that he will arrive at Vigo airport at noon and that from there he will transfer to Sanxenxo, where he will in principle stay until Sunday for the regatta in which his boat ‘Bribón’ will take part.

Government silence

Although the Government of Spain and PSOE remain silent on this issue The left-wing parties and the Basque and Catalan nationalists criticized the visit, as the absurdity of Juan Carlos de Borbón. And Lack of explanations about their financial management.

In the story of the transition built by the Spanish political class in 45 years of democracy, the figure of King Juan Carlos is central as the protagonist who is called upon to succeed Franco and who nonetheless preferred to direct the transition from dictatorship to regime. freedom compared to other European countries. This is why it is considered that a historical figure of such a dimension should not die in a foreign country and is despised by a large part of Spanish public opinion.

Recently, however, the former king has shown less interest in the matter than his hagiography. At the moment, at 85 and to his son’s chagrin, he seems more interested in enjoying the rest of his life than in how he will be remembered.