Juan Carlos I visited his son in Madrid after almost two years of exile

John Charles I visited this Monday in Madrid the current king, his son Felipe VI, in a family day that ended a first and controversial visit to Spain after almost two years abroad, stalked by suspicions of corruption.

The emeritus king spent the entire day in the palace of Operettaafter which the Royal House issued a statement stating that Juan Carlos will continue to live “permanently” in Abu Dhabi, where he flew back in the evening by private jet.

Look: With the case closed in Switzerland, the emeritus king of Spain appears in Abu Dhabi

The statement also stated that the former head of state (1975-2014) will only enjoy private accommodation both on his next visits and “If in the future I return to reside in Spain”a phrase interpreted by the Spanish media as a sign that the Royal House was leaving the door open to a future definitive return of Juan Carlos.

In addition to seeing his wife Sofía, from whom he is estranged, and other relatives, Juan Carlos of Bourbon maintained with Philip VI “Ample time for conversation about family issues as well as about different events” occurred in Spain since the king emeritus left the country, the statement added.

Lost opportunity”

Juan Carlos arrived on thursday Spainbut from that day until this Monday he was in the Galician town (northwest) of Sanxenxo, where he attended a sailing competition, his favorite sport.

Since he left for the United Arab Emirates in August 2020, when he was suspected of money laundering and corruption, he had not personally seen his son, who has since tried to distance himself from his father.

The investigations were archived, among other reasons, due to the inviolability of the previous head of state and because the possible crimes had prescribed, something that exacerbated the controversy over his return.

The left-wing government regretted that the king emeritus did not apologize for the irregularities that came to light during the investigations.

“If on your first trip to Spain He has not taken the opportunity to explain himself and only to go out to the sea and (attend) a barbecue, I understand that he has lost the opportunity” to explain himself, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told reporters.

Philip VI He never visited his father in his exile and, officially, never spoke to him on the phone until last week, when they agreed on this visit that ended on Monday.

Juan Carlos i will return to Spain in mid-June, back to Sanxenxo, where he stays at the house of his friend and sailing partner of the “Bribón” team, Pedro Campos.

A thorny comeback

the return to Spain it was a thorny issue. The newspaper El País reported this Monday that it was preceded by three months of negotiations between Philip VIthe government and John Charles Ihelped by a mediator whose identity was not disclosed.

In them, the government opposed the former monarch sleeping in the Zarzuela Palace on his return, as it was the official residence of the head of state.

In Sanxenxo, Juan Carlos made some brief statements on the fly, when he entered or left the yacht club, which did not go unnoticed.

“Explanations, for what?” he replied curtly on Sunday when asked if he was going to talk to his son about the issues for which he was investigated.

“What am I going to tell him? What would you say to your son?”, launched a journalist who asked him what they were going to talk to Philip VI.

In 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated persecuted by scandals, and justified his exile in Abu Dhabi in the need to “facilitate” the work of his successor on the throne.

In March 2020, Philip VI he renounced his father’s inheritance and withdrew his annual allowance of almost 200,000 euros.

More recently, in April, he launched a “transparency” operation with the government of Pedro Sánchez in the Royal House, which must now audit its accounts, make its contracts public or take an inventory of the gifts received.

Source: Elcomercio

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