Fiona Govan
THE ex-lover of Spain’s scandal-hit former-King Juan Carlos is suing him in the High Court in London for damages accusing the old monarch and the Spanish intelligence of ‘harassment, threats and defamation’.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 56, had a well-publicised affair with the 83-year-old monarch that came to light when it emerged she accompanied King Juan Carlos on an ill-fated elephant hunting trip to Botswana, one in a series of scandals that led to his abdication in June 2014.
Her claim, which was filed in December and was only made public on Monday, accuses Juan Carlos and the Spanish secret service of placing her under “unlawful covert and overt surveillance” while she was living in the UK.
She is seeking substantial damages and a restraining order.
The former king has denied wrongdoing, although his legal team has not yet filed a defence to the claim, reported the Financial Times.
German born Sayn-Wittgenstein has spoken out against her former lover with claims that she has been earmarked as a ‘scapegoat’ in a money-laundering scandal.
In 2012, Juan Carlos transferred €65 million (£59.3 million) to Ms Sayn-Wittgenstein allegedly part of a €100 million payment to the monarch from the Saudi royal family.
A Swiss court has placed the transfer under investigation for alleged money laundering although Sayn-Wittgenstein denies wrongdoing.
She claims that although she was told the King had made the payment as a gift, he later asked for it back.
She alleges that, after she declined, he falsely accused her of stealing the funds and defamed her to her family and business partners.
In explosive testimony she gave to a Spanish court last year, she claimed hat her life had been threatened by a former spy chief on orders from the exiled monarch himself in a conversation that “terrified” her.
Her claim in the London court is not likely to be straightforward. As Juan Carlos is a former head of state of another nation who does not live in the UK there is a question of jurisdiction.
He left Spain last year and is thought to be currently living in Abu Dhabi.
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