This Sunday, January 5, King Emeritus Juan Carlos I will celebrate his 87th birthday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where he has resided since August 2020. Unlike last year, when his anniversary was celebrated with a party with great media coverage and a display that included the cover of the magazine Hellothis year the celebration will be much more discreet, as advised from Madrid. The celebration will be attended by his daughters, the Infantas Elena and Cristina, some of his grandchildren and a small circle of close people.
Sources close to the emeritus’ entourage confirm that, from Spain, he has been specifically asked to avoid any type of ostentation that could generate controversy, especially in a context in which his figure continues to be the subject of public and media debate. The request comes after a year marked by new scandals and revelations about his personal and financial life, which have occupied covers and television talk shows, making Juan Carlos I an involuntary protagonist today.
The last year has been particularly difficult for Juan Carlos I. Photographs and audios that delve into his extramarital relationship with Bárbara Rey have once again put his private life in the spotlight, and the news of an autobiography that, according to what he leaked, he was going to publish, It ended up being aborted because it was considered untimely. Furthermore, the existence of a new foundation in Abu Dhabi, presumably to manage his fortune and inheritance, linked to his name and presumably with considerable assets behind it, has once again called into question the transparency of his activities.
Despite the fact that the Prosecutor’s Office closed the investigations related to his fortune abroad – due to regularizations by the monarch himself, or alleging prescription of the facts, or the inviolability that he enjoyed as head of State until 2014 -, the controversy remains latent. In recent months, even his stay in Abu Dhabi and his occasional visits to Spain (with an increasingly less media profile, of course) have generated diverse reactions both in the political sphere and in public opinion.
In 2024, Juan Carlos I organized a party in Abu Dhabi to celebrate his 86th birthday. Around 80 guests attended the celebration, including their daughters, Infantas Elena and Cristina, in a display that was widely covered by the media. This year, however, the party has said, as we hear, that it will be more intimate and away from the media spotlight, complying with the request to maintain a low profile. The family, as usual, continues to play an important role in the life of the king emeritus. Although he no longer represents the Crown or participates in official events, his daughters have become his greatest support, visiting him frequently and accompanying him at private events. On this occasion, several of his grandchildren will also be present, ensuring a family atmosphere on a significant day for the former monarch.
Since his move to Abu Dhabi in August 2020, following the financial scandals that involved him, Juan Carlos I has visited Spain on rare occasions. The last of them took place in September 2024, when he attended the European Sailing Championships in Sanxenxo (Pontevedra), a town that has become his refuge during his brief stays in the country. During that visit, the emeritus met with his son, King Felipe VI; Queen Letizia; and his granddaughter, Princess Leonor, at the Marín Naval School, where Leonor completed her military training. The meeting was brief and discreet, but significant, since it reflected a desire to maintain family ties despite the distances and complexities derived from the situation of the former head of state.
Last June marked ten years since Juan Carlos I abdicated in favor of his son, Felipe VI. Since then, his role in the public sphere has changed dramatically. He has stopped participating in official events, he does not receive an allowance from the State, and his son renounced his inheritance to distance himself from the controversies related to his father. Despite these changes, his figure continues to generate interest and debate.
Juan Carlos I’s 87th birthday comes at a time when his legacy continues to come under scrutiny. Although his role in the consolidation of Spanish democracy is indisputable, the scandals of recent years have tarnished his public image. The decision to celebrate its anniversary in a modest way reflects not only compliance with the recommendations from Spain, but also an apparent awareness of the need to avoid further deterioration of its already weakened reputation.
With this discreet birthday, Juan Carlos I, if he finally follows the advice received, seems to take a step towards a more reserved profile, a decision that many consider necessary in the current context. But, as recent history has shown, any movement related to his figure hardly goes unnoticed.
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