Juan Carlos I, the father to the incumbent King Felipe VI, of Spain has announced he will swiftly move out of the country as many doubt his shady transactions in his finances, possibly criminal in nature.
In a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos wrote that “in the face of the public repercussion that certain past events of my private life are generating”, he will be leaving the country.
A Royal Household spokesperson then confirmed in a media interview that the king “has left already,” but declined to reveal where he has gone.
This has been a talk of the town even before the king’s erratic move to abdicate the throne in 2014. The former king’s financial dealings were viciously scrutinized by the Spanish and inernational media.
King Felipe, his son who has effectively distanced him from his father’s shadow, expressed ” heartfelt respect and gratitude”, according to a press release from the Royal Household.
“The King wishes to emphasize the historical importance that his father’s reign represents, his legacy and his political and institutional work for Spain and democracy; and at the same time he wants to reaffirm the principles and values on which it (Spain’s democracy) is based,” the press release said.
In the letter Juan Carlos wrote: “A year ago, I expressed my will and desire to stop performing institutional activities.
Now, guided by the conviction to perform the best service to the Spanish people, their institutions and you as King, I am communicating my thoughtful decision to move, at this time, outside of Spain. A decision I make with sadness, but with great serenity.
I have been King of Spain for almost forty years and, during all of them, I have always wanted the best for Spain and for the Crown,” said the letter, published by the Royal Household.
Juan Carlos is a monarch who has been praised in the previous century as having led the country out of General Franco’s ruthless dictatorship.
He was widely praised for his involvement, but since then the queries into his financial deals have caused much damage. In 2014, he abdicated under a cloud of financial scandal and criticism of his elephant-hunting trip to Botswana during Spain’s financial crisis in 2012.
In March, King Felipe ended the annual public stipend paid to his father and renounced any personal inheritance from him.
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Replaced!