King Emeritus Juan Carlos I steps on Spanish soil again

USPA NEWS - The King Emeritus of Spain, Juan Carlos I de Borbón, returned to Spain this Thursday after 655 days absent, in which he has resided in Abu Dhabi. The Monarch, father of the current King Felipe VI, arrived at Vigo airport, in Galicia (Northwest of the country), shortly after seven in the afternoon, local time, and traveled to the city of Sanxenxo, where he will remain for three days to attend an international regatta that takes place this weekend.

Juan Carlos I plans to stay over the weekend “in the Galician town of Sanxenxo, and on Monday the 23rd travel to Madrid to be with King Felipe VI, Queen Emeritus Sofía and other members of his family at the Palace of La Zarzuela. That same day, King Juan Carlos I will undertake a return trip to Abu Dhabi, where he has established his permanent and stable residence,” explained the Spanish Royal House in a statement. "This visit is part of the desire of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I to travel frequently to Spain to visit family and friends, and organize his personal life and his place of residence in areas of a private nature, as expressed the letter he addressed to His Majesty the King on March 5," the statement added.

Juan Carlos I settled in Abu Dhabi two years ago as a result of judicial investigations into alleged tax irregularities. All of them were archived, as it was not possible to prove that the Monarch had committed any crime. With his judicial horizon cleared, a debate was opened in Spain on the advisability of the King Emeritus returning to Spain, a debate that was resolved when the Monarch announced that he would continue to reside in the Gulf country with periodic visits to Spain. His wish is to interfere as little as possible in the activities of the current King Felipe VI and harm the prestige of the Monarchy as little as possible.

The King Emeritus stepped off the plane that took him to Vigo from Abu Dhabi on his own feet. At the airport he was received by his daughter the Infanta Elena and by his friend Pedro Campos, in whose house he will reside this weekend. Juan Carlos I will travel to Madrid on Monday, where he will visit his family in the Palace of La Zarzuela, but he will not sleep in the palace but will return to Abu Dhabi on Monday. In a letter addressed to his son a few months ago, he announced his desire to visit Spain periodically but warned that, when he is in Spain, he will stay in private residences.

This weekend, the King Emeritus will attend the InerRías trophy of the 6mR class 2022 Spanish Cup circuit, in which Juan Carlos I participated in the past. According to those responsible for the Sanxenxo Yacht Club, it will be the Monarch himself who decides whether or not he participates in the regatta. They claim that he has transferred his “good physical shape” to them, but the King Emeritus has not sailed for three years and the competition is demanding.

According to Pedro Campos, this weekend's regatta is "a normal regatta like the ones he has been to so many times and with some rivals who this time are a little more," since it is the last trophy before the world championship that it will be held in June and of which the Bribón captained by the King Emeritus was champion in its last edition, held in 2019. Juan Carlos I is also expected in Spain in June.