According to the staff around the old king of Spain, Juan Carlos I was very concerned about his funeral recently, and he was too worried that he would die abroad, so he couldn't sleep.
So, who exactly is Juan Carlos I?
Juan Carlos I was the abdicated king of Spain, the father of Felipe VI and the legendary king of flowers with 5,000 mistresses.
It was precisely because of his mistress's report that he stepped down directly from power in the late season, and in order to keep the Spanish royal family, he could only choose to self-exile.
Although it is said to be self-exile, the old king, who has hundreds of millions of assets, is very happy to eat and drink spicy food abroad.
However, Juan, who was born in 1938, is 86 years old this year, and his reputation in his later years is almost extreme, and his health has been in poor condition in recent years, so he will be very concerned about his afterlife.
British monarchs are usually buried in the royal crypts under St. George's Cathedral at Windsor Castle, but where would the kings of Spain be buried when they died?
Monastery of El Escorial
The Monastery of El Escorial, known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World", is a complex of monasteries, palaces, imperial tombs, churches, libraries, charity halls, seminaries and schools.
The monastery has 15 cloisters, 16 courtyards, 88 fountains, 1,200 doors and 9 towers.
Beneath the main altar are the tombs of the Spanish kings, who housed the remains of 26 kings from the mid-16th century to the early 20th century.
To the south of the church is the King's Palace, which houses the personal belongings and beds used by Felipe II in his later period.
It is said that in order to bring himself closer to God, a special window was set up in his room so that he could view the altar at any time and pray for himself.
The origin of the Pantheon
Felipe II's reign coincided with the prosperity of Spain, so he wanted to build a mausoleum worthy of the Habsburgs, so he thought of building a monastery covering an area of 33,327 square meters.
Ironically, Felipe II's grandson, Felipe IV, said that his grandfather Felipe II had forgotten where he was buried, so the remains of Felipe II and his successive monarchs had always been placed in a narrow and cold space.
Probably unable to bear the infamy of "unfilial grandson", Felipe IV later decided to bury all the remains of the monarch under the main altar.
Completed in 1654, the Pantheon has a 10-meter-high octagonal basement.
The catacombs are said to be spectacular, with all floors, walls and ceilings made of precious polished wood and mirror-smooth marble, decorated with gilded bronze.
The location is similar to that of the royal tomb in St. George's Chapel, with luggage racks stacked on top of each other.
Coffins will be placed on each floor, and 24 kings and queens have been housed since the completion of the building.
Originally, there were only 26 slots designed here, which means that there are only two slots left in the Pantheon of Kings.
Moreover, this position has become "master", and this owner is the grandparents of Felipe VI.
"Air-drying room"
If there is still a place, why can't the Counts of Barcelona be buried?
This is a strange but understandable move by the Spanish crown.
According to tradition, after the death of a member of the royal family, their remains are placed in a place called a "wet and dry room", which is a deliberate typo, because it takes 30 to 50 years for the body to be completely dissolved.
Therefore, every deceased monarch or spouse will stay in the "wet and dry room" for a period of time.
At first, their remains were placed in a rubble urn embedded with lead, and only after it was confirmed that they were completely dissolved did the monks of the monastery transfer their remains to the king's chamber of the Pantheon.
In fact, the Pantheon is divided into the King's Room and the Prince's Room, and only the monarch or the monarch's spouse is eligible to "stay" in the King's Room.
It is worth mentioning that the "wet and dry rooms" are not open to the public, and only the designated staff of the monastery can enter them.
So why is a prince who has not been a king for a day be buried among kings?
The Count of Barcelona is a subsidiary title of the King of Spain, who officially named his father Count of Barcelona after his accession to the throne and posthumously named Juan III after his father's death in 1993.
For the sake of stability in Spain, Prince Juan renounced his right to the throne after Franco's death.
They did not enjoy the glory of the king during their lifetime, but they enjoyed the treatment of the king after their death, so the counts of Barcelona and their wife could enter the Pantheon King Room for burial.
A resting place
Then again, if Juan Carlos I died, what would his resting place be?
As mentioned earlier, the Pantheon has two rooms, a royal room with 26 seats and a prince's room with 60 niches.
The kings are now "overcrowded" and there are 23 princes left, which means that Juan Carlos I will most likely have his resting place between princes and not kings, if he so wishes.
After the Pantheon was built, were all the Spanish monarchs buried here?
This was not the case, Felipe V could not stand the darkness and excessive silence of the Pantheon, so he asked to be buried in the palace of San Ildefonso, his favorite during his lifetime, and Fernando VI was buried in the monastery of San Juan de los Reyes.
As for where Juan Carlos I or other members of the royal family want to be buried, they are completely free to choose, as long as there is space in that place to "accommodate" them.