"Love Felipe: In the face of public disgust at certain events in my private life ... In order to better maintain the Spanish political system, and for your sake, I have decided to move out of Spain. ”
This is what was mentioned in a letter dated August 3, 2020, written to his son Felipe VI before the exile of former King Juan Carlos of Spain.
Juan Carlos made a significant contribution to the smooth transition from an autocracy to a constitutional monarchy during his reign.
Juan Carlos (right)
However, he was late and exposed to the chaos of his private life, with 1500 lovers and countless illegitimate children, and once pursued Princess Diana in front of his wife, Princess Sophia.
He was also subjected to judicial investigation for corruption and tax evasion scandals, and his image plummeted and he was forced into exile.
The legendary experience of the 83-year-old Juan Carlos and his marriage, family and private life have aroused popular interest. Let's take a look at the story of the mercurial former king Juan Carlos.
Juan Carlos and Sofia
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > Juan Carlos and Sofia</h1>
In 1938, a civil war broke out in Spain, and King Alfonso XIII of Spain went into exile with his family. Juan Carlos was born in Rome at this time. Ten years later, the victor of the civil war, the then Head of State Franco, announced the restoration of the monarchy, and he took Juan back to Spain to train as the heir to the royal family.
Ten-year-old Juan has since been away from his family and has returned to China alone. Franco provided Juan with a first-class educational environment. His father wanted him to study abroad, but Franco wanted him to attend military school at home first.
Later facts proved that the experience of the military academy allowed Juan to gather a large number of officers and classmates around him, laying a solid foundation for his future ruling career.
As he grew older, Juan began to understand politics and gradually embraced the ideas of Western democratic politics.
In 1960, Hu entered the University of Madrid to study politics, law, philosophy, history, literature, and international law. But Franco thought it was too early for him to enter politics and tightened control and supervision over Juan.
Juan is like a bird in a cage, although he has a rich material life, he has no freedom, and his every move is reported to Franco at any time. Juan had to look at Franco's face at any time, and his mood was naturally very depressed.
A year later, Juan's life took on a new look. At a wedding ball, he met the Greek princess Sophia. When he was young, Juan was tall and handsome, with a pair of deep eyes, and his appearance fascinated countless young girls. Princess Sophia is elegant and beautiful, and is the dream lover of many aristocratic young people.
The two fell in love with each other at first sight, and soon immersed themselves in love.
Born in Greece in November 1938, Sophia received a good education from an early age, proficient in five Chinese dialects such as Greek, Spanish, and English, studied music, nursing and archaeology, and her sports were also very good, and she also represented Greece in the Olympic Games.
Like Juan, Sophia fled to Egypt, London and other places as a child to escape the war, and the same experience brought the two closer together, and three months later, Juan formally proposed to Sophia.
Unlike the down-and-out Juan, Sophia was the eldest daughter of the Greek king Paplo, the natural heir to the royal family, and was a star in the spotlight at the time. But Sophia has fallen deeply in love with Juan, and in the face of resistance, she gave up the right to inherit the throne and resolutely "married" Juan, which can be described as "to love people and not to jiangshan".
On May 14, 1962, Juan and Sophia held a grand wedding ceremony at the Catholic Cathedral of St. Dionysius in Athens. Like princes and princesses in fairy tales, they receive praise and blessings from everyone.
After marriage, Sophia followed Juan to live under the fence in Spain. Soon, they had two daughters and a son, the younger son being the later King Felipe of Spain. Sophia focuses on educating her children and running the family.
Transporting children to and from school, holding parent-teacher conferences, and knitting sweaters for them, Sophia was personally responsible, but hired a nanny to help with some housework. Juan is also grateful for Sophia's efforts, under Franco's eyes, although the two have a somewhat depressed life, but the married life is still very sweet and happy.
This state of love was broken after Juan officially ascended the throne, and Juan began to derail frequently after he took power.
Sophia was disappointed in Juan, and in 1976, after once in bed with juan and the Spanish movie star Sarah, Sophia chose to live separately, and the two never slept together again. Unexpectedly, this move fulfilled Juan, and he was even more unscrupulous in his hunting and cheating behavior.
Although Sophia was very sad and often cried secretly in the car alone, she chose to swallow her anger and become the titular queen, and her goal was to train her son to become the future king.
Sophia's encounter makes people sigh, "Once said that you only love me, but now you have found 1500 lovers", Sophia said this sadly, I don't know if she ever regretted her choice in her heart?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > King Juan Carlos</h1>
On November 22, 1975, after Franco's death, Juan Carlos was sworn in as King of Spain. Juan finally had a chance to realize his political ambitions.
He promulgated a new constitution establishing that the king was only a "symbol" and handing over the governance of the country to the prime minister. The transition from dictatorship to democracy was completed, laying a good foundation for the rapid development of Spain in the future. King Juan won the praise and support of the entire population.
Franco's conservative legacy still wanted to restore the dictatorship, and a group of military officers staged a military coup on January 18, 1981, besieging the Parliament building under the guise of Juan, detaining more than 200 dignitaries, including Prime Minister Gonzalez, and declaring martial law in the capital.
Spain's democratic process has been severely tested.
Juan, who was playing tennis, reacted quickly when he heard the news, giving a televised address to the country and setting up a government emergency working group to order the army to remain stable.
After 18 hours, the coup d'état surrendered and the incident was put to rest.
Juan stepped forward in a moment of crisis to turn the tide and save the country. Since then, his reputation has soared, and his prestige in the eyes of the people has been in the sky, and he has begun the most glorious period.
Juan should be a capable, ambitious politician. However, his chaotic and debauched private life eventually became his greatest failure.
Over time, some of Juan's bad deeds gradually surfaced. Author Martinez described Juan as a sex addict in his best-selling book Juan Carlos I: The King of 5,000 Men.
Juan said that he had nearly 5,000 mistresses, including beautiful female celebrities and domestic and foreign noblewomen. Another publisher collected a collection of love letters between Juan and his elderly Italian lover, Countess Orgina. Juan spent $50,000 to get the publisher to cancel its publishing plans.
The ancients said, "Paper can't contain fire after all," and an accident in April 2012 made Juan's affair completely clear to the world. Spain was in the midst of a financial crisis, but Juan, accompanied by the Saudi royal family, spent nearly $50,000 hunting with a lover in Botswana.
He accidentally fell off his horse and injured his hip. In the end, he had to take a private jet back to China for surgery. Queen Sophia visited the hospital several days later.
After this news was exposed by the media, the public was in an uproar. After Juan was discharged from the hospital, he had to apologize publicly, admit to making mistakes, and promise not to do them again, trying to calm public opinion.
Juan (right)
However, once Pandora's box is opened, the course of events is beyond Juan's control.
Juan's affair with Corinne, a German businesswoman 26 years his junior, was exposed; news that he had paid more than $2 million to his ex-mistress, socialite Marta, through a royal charity.
Reporters from all walks of life are keen to dig up Juan's love history, according to statistics, Juan can implement 1500 lovers, the number is shocking. True and false, illegitimate children and daughters all over the place are not willing to be lonely, and have come to join in the fun.
In January 2015, Ingrid, a 48-year-old Belgian, filed with a Spanish court for a paternity test with Juan. For a time, Juan was on the cusp of the storm, his image in the minds of the people plummeted, and his support rate fell to the bottom. Political opponents are also beginning to point the finger at Juan.
Juan
Juan's private life was chaotic and criticized, at best tarnishing his personal image. But pulling out the radish brings out the mud, so the things involved are not so simple.
After the "Botswana" incident, the media found that Juan's interaction with his lover was accompanied by a large number of capital transactions, and the channels of capital circulation were more complicated. Suspected of tax evasion, Juan was pressured to pay nearly 5 million euros in back taxes in exchange for exemption from investigation.
In 2020, a former mistress reported that Juan had received kickbacks in a nearly £6 billion high-speed rail project with Saudi Arabia. This became the last straw that overwhelmed Juan.
In the face of public accusations and prosecutorial investigations, for the sake of the stability of the royal family, on June 18, 2014, the 76-year-old Juan voluntarily abdicated, giving way to his son Felipe VI and moving to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Juan, who was exiled abroad, did not change his nature and still lived a life of luxury and debauchery.
He stayed in the Presidential Suite of the Eight-Star Hotel, the Emirates Palace Hotel, accompanied by his old lover Marta, and his life was at ease. I wonder if he will think of Queen Sophia, who is lonely in the country?
Queen Sophia
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="15" > Juan Carlos and Diana</h1>
Juan cheated in marriage and acted recklessly, reaching the point of being bold. The veteran hunter also once hit the British Princess Diana on the body.
In 1986, Diana and Charles took their children to Mallorca, Spain, for a vacation. Juan's family also happened to be recuperating here, and the two royal families naturally had contact. Unexpectedly, Juan, who was nearly 50 years old, became interested in the 25-year-old Diana and launched a further pursuit.
In addition to verbal seduction, he touched Diana in defiance of diplomatic etiquette, paying no attention to Queen Sophia, who was nearby. When Diana went to the beach to walk her dog, Juan went alone to accompany her.
Diana (right)
Although Diana denied the rumors, the photos taken by the media proved that Juan was obviously too close when he kissed Diana's hand, and the smile on his face was too enthusiastic, and Diana looked embarrassed. Later, Princess Dai once said to the people around her: "I know that the king of Spain likes me." ”
It can be seen that for the sake of lust and pleasure, Juan was rash to the extreme, and Queen Sophia's depression and discomfort can be imagined.
Juan Carlos's life is legendary and he plays a pivotal role in Spanish political life. He had ideals and convictions, put an end to the dictatorship of the junta, and successfully achieved the democratic transition in Spain.
His contribution to the country in the first half of his life was great, and he won the respect of the people. However, in the second half of his life, he was ousted from the throne due to indulgence and corruption scandals, and he was exiled overseas in the late season.
This huge contrast may not be understood by others, but this is Juan's real life, and his merits and deeds will be recorded in the annals of history together, and future generations will comment.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="17" > references</h1>
[1] "Juan Carlos I", Wen Wei Po, June 7, 2014;
[2] Paul Preston, translated by Li Yongxue, "The Democratic King: A Biography of Juan Carlos", Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press, 2017;
[3] By Cernuda, translated by Zhu Kai, King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Beijing Commercial Press, July 1990.