Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S Emeritus King, Juan Carlos, reached his 85th birthday on Thursday with close friends saying he is ‘physically and morally very well’.
He will celebrate for the third consecutive year in Abu Dhabi after moving to the UAE state in August 2020 amidst controversy surrounding his international business dealings.
As in previous years, his son King Felipe was expected to phone him to pass on his congratulations.
Since his self-imposed exile, he has returned to Spain just once last May for a sailing regatta in Sanxenxo.
That visit caused controversy among some politicians but prosecutors had dismissed a corruption probe involving the former monarch earlier in 2022.
Close friends speaking to the EFE news agency said that ‘he is tired’ of the negative treatment he’s getting with no appreciation of his 39-year legacy as king.
“He has a feeling of pain because people don’t take a balanced view and only look at bad things and not good things,” said a friend who has visited Juan Carlos several times in Abu Dhabi.
Sources say that he is physically ‘fine’ thanks to regularly exercising to slow down the deterioration of his joints and control his weight.
“He is better than ever, both physically and morally and in a very good mood. He is taking great care of herself,” the sources pointed out to EFE.
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