Spain's former king Juan Carlos, 82, announces he is LEAVING the country amid corruption scandal 

Spain’s former monarch, King Juan Carlos I, has announced he is leaving Spain to live in another country amid a financial scandal.

Former king Juan Carlos told his son, King Felipe, that he decided to leave Spain, the royal house said in a statement on Monday.

On Monday night it emerged the former King of Spain had already left the country.

Well-placed sources close to the Spanish Royal Household confirmed he was no longer in Spain. 

It comes on the back of a series of scandals involving the long-serving monarch, who abdicated in June 2014 after four decades on the throne.

His reputation has nosedived since his abdication with continuing rumours about lovers, corruption and Swiss bank accounts.

Spanish authorities are currently investigating whether he received a secret commission for helping to win a £5.5 billion Saudi rail deal after a former mistress made the allegations privately. 

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, Spain's King Juan Carlos and Spain's Princess Letizia attend the Spanish National day military parade in Madrid on October 12, 2012. Spain's former king Juan Carlos, who is under investigation for corruption, has announced he plans to go into exile

Spain’s Crown Prince Felipe, Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Spain’s Princess Letizia attend the Spanish National day military parade in Madrid on October 12, 2012. Spain’s former king Juan Carlos, who is under investigation for corruption, has announced he plans to go into exile

King Felipe VI of Spain (second left), his wife Queen Letizia (left), their daughters Princess Sofia (front left) and Princess Leonor (front right), former King Juan Carlos I (second righ) and his wife former Queen Sofia (right) pose before attending the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018

King Felipe VI of Spain (second left), his wife Queen Letizia (left), their daughters Princess Sofia (front left) and Princess Leonor (front right), former King Juan Carlos I (second righ) and his wife former Queen Sofia (right) pose before attending the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018

Spain's former monarch, King Juan Carlos I (pictured), says he is leaving Spain to live in another country amid a financial scandal

Spain’s former monarch, King Juan Carlos I (pictured), says he is leaving Spain to live in another country amid a financial scandal

It is not clear where the former king will move to, although sources in Spain have speculated the Dominican Republic could be one possible country. 

The royal family’s website on Monday published a letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe VI, saying ‘I am informing you of my considered decision to move, during this period, out of Spain.’ 

Spain’s prime minister recently said he found the developments about Juan Carlos – including investigations in Spain and Switzerland – ‘disturbing.’ 

In June, Spain’s Supreme Court opened an investigation into Juan Carlos’ involvement with a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia after Switzerland’s La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported he had received $100 million from the late Saudi King.

Former king Juan Carlos told his son, King Felipe, that he decided to leave Spain, the royal house said in a statement on Monday. Above, former Spanish King Juan Carlos congratulates Spain's Prince Felipe VI during the ceremony of approval and enactment of a law bringing into effect King Juan Carlo's abdication in the Columns Hall at the Royal Palace in Madrid on June 18, 2014

Former king Juan Carlos told his son, King Felipe, that he decided to leave Spain, the royal house said in a statement on Monday. Above, former Spanish King Juan Carlos congratulates Spain’s Prince Felipe VI during the ceremony of approval and enactment of a law bringing into effect King Juan Carlo’s abdication in the Columns Hall at the Royal Palace in Madrid on June 18, 2014

It is not clear where the former king will move to, although sources in Spain have speculated the Dominican Republic could be one possible country. Above, Juan Carlos shakes hands with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican in 2014

It is not clear where the former king will move to, although sources in Spain have speculated the Dominican Republic could be one possible country. Above, Juan Carlos shakes hands with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican in 2014 

Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife Queen Sofia of Spain salute the crowd from the balcony of the Oriental Palace in Madrid in 2004

Juan Carlos of Spain and his wife Queen Sofia of Spain salute the crowd from the balcony of the Oriental Palace in Madrid in 2004 

Spain's King Juan Carlos I attends a reception at the Swedish embassy in Madrid on September 24, 2009

Spain’s King Juan Carlos I attends a reception at the Swedish embassy in Madrid on September 24, 2009

Juan Carlos allegedly then transferred a large amount to a former companion in what investigators are considering as a possible attempt to hide the money from authorities. 

Through his lawyer, Juan Carlos, 82, has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations.

The former King said in a letter to his son, made public today: ‘Guided by my conviction I can offer the best service to Spaniards, its institutions and to you as King, I am communicating my decision to move away from Spain.

In June, Spain's Supreme Court opened an investigation into Juan Carlos' involvement with a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia

In June, Spain’s Supreme Court opened an investigation into Juan Carlos’ involvement with a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia

‘It’s a decision I am taking with deep feeling but with great serenity.

‘I have been King of Spain for almost 40 years and during that whole time, I’ve always wanted the best for Spain and for the Crown.’

He signed off the letter: ‘With affection as always, your father.’

Juan Carlos I of Spain and his wive Queen Sofia pose for an official portrait in Madrid in February 2020

Juan Carlos I of Spain and his wive Queen Sofia pose for an official portrait in Madrid in February 2020 

Spanish TV analysts immediately dubbed the former monarch’s announcement he was quitting Spain as a ‘back-door’ exit.

Journalist Gema Lopez insisted his decision should not prevent a full investigation into Juan Carlos’s business activities going ahead.

She added: ‘The day he dies, I am not sure the historical revisionism of how he has acted will be as favourable as it has been up to now.’

She also questioned whether he could ever receive a state funeral.

Juan Carlos I reigned as King of Spain from 1975 to 2014 when he abdicated in favour of his son Felipe VI.

He has three children with his wife of 75 years Sofia. Their relationship since his abdication is said to have been virtually non-existent and it has been claimed they last shared a bed more than 40 years ago. 

Barcelona-based author Pilar Eyre, an expert on the Spanish royal family, made an explosive claim about Juan Carlos and Diana in a book she published in 2012.

She said the Spanish monarch made a pass at her during a holiday Diana and Charles spent with their son at the king’s summer palace in Majorca in 1986.

According to Eyre, the king made a ‘tactile’ advance to Diana, then just 25.

Diana herself denied anything untoward had happened but admitted that while the libidinous king was ‘charming’ he could be a ‘little too attentive.’

Juan Carlos had to make a grovelling apology in April 2012 over a controversial elephant hunting trip to Botswana at the height of Spain’s economic crisis.

Juan Carlos I reigned as King of Spain from 1975 to 2014 when he abdicated in favour of his son Felipe VI. Above, Carlos and his wife d Queen Sofia of Spain attend an ATP Madrid Open semi-final tennis match at the Caja Magica in Madrid on May 11, 2019

Juan Carlos I reigned as King of Spain from 1975 to 2014 when he abdicated in favour of his son Felipe VI. Above, Carlos and his wife d Queen Sofia of Spain attend an ATP Madrid Open semi-final tennis match at the Caja Magica in Madrid on May 11, 2019

King Felipe VI of Spain stands with his father former King Juan Carlos I and one of his daughters Princess Leonor as they arrive with other members of the royal family to attend the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018

King Felipe VI of Spain stands with his father former King Juan Carlos I and one of his daughters Princess Leonor as they arrive with other members of the royal family to attend the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018

The trip came to light after he broke his hip in a fall and had to be flown back to Madrid for surgery

Belgian housewife Ingrid Sartiau launched a paternity suit against Juan Carlos shortly after his abdication, claiming her mum told her: ‘That man’s your father’ when he flashed up on TV before revealing details to her of a one-night stand in Luxembourg in 1966.

Spain’s Supreme Court announced in March 2015 it had refused to accept Ingrid’s lawsuit.

Juan Carlos’s health is said to be ‘very delicate.’

A formal announcement on the former Spanish King’s future is expected after his son and ex-journalist wife Letizia Ortiz finish a national tour designed partly to boost Spanish tourism.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia travelled to Benidorm at the start of the month and met British tourists on a meet-and-greet in the famous Costa Blanca resort.

Who is Spain’s former king, Juan Carlos I?

Juan Carlos I reigned as king of Spain from November 1975 until his abdication in June 2014

Juan Carlos I reigned as king of Spain from November 1975 until his abdication in June 2014

Juan Carlos I reigned as king of Spain from November 1975 until his abdication in June 2014. 

He is the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the abolition of the monarchy in 1931 and the subsequent declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. 

Juan Carlos was born in Rome, Italy, on January 5, 1938, during his family’s exile. He came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies and entered the Zaragoza military academy. 

He completed his tertiary education at the University of Madrid and went on to marry Princess Sofia of Greece and Denmark in Athens in 1962. 

They went on to have two daughters and a son together: Elena, Cristina, and Felipe.  

Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spain’s head of state in the summer of 1974. Francisco Franco died in November the following year and Juan Carlos became king on 22 November 1975, two days after Franco’s death.

Juan Carlos was hailed for his role in Spain’s transition to democracy and reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime. 

However the King and the monarchy’s reputation began to suffer after controversies surrounding his family arose. 

In April 2012, Juan Carlos faced criticism for an elephant-hunting trip in Botswana during a time of financial crisis in Spain. 

The public found out about the trip only after the King injured himself and a special aircraft was sent to bring him home.

Spanish officials stated that the expenses of the trip were not paid by taxpayers or by the palace, but by businessman Mohamed Eyad Kayali.

In 2014, Juan Carlos, citing personal reasons, abdicated in favour of his son, who acceded to the throne as Filipe VI on June 19 of that year. 

source: dailymail.co.uk