Simon Hunter
ANOTHER uncomfortable family photo is likely to emerge tomorrow at the funeral of Constantine II, who was the last king of Greece. The reason? His sister is Spain’s former queen Sofía, and her estranged husband, Juan Carlos I, will be joining her at the ceremony on Monday.
The current king of Spain, Felipe VI, has been trying to distance himself and his close relatives from his father, Juan Carlos, since a number of financial scandals forced the self-styled emeritus king into self-imposed exile back in August of 2020.
Since then, Juan Carlos, 85, has only returned to Spain once: to attend a sailing regatta in Galicia. But rather than being a low-profile event, the visit turned into a media circus.
There was reportedly much unease among the royal family and the Spanish government when the ex-king, who reigned from 1975 until his abdication in 2014, was asked by reporters in Galicia whether he should give the Spanish public explanations about his financial dealings, which included accusations of tax fraud.
“Explanations about what?” he replied, with a laugh.
Despite his reported keenness to return to Spain, in particular at Christmas, another visit is not on the cards and Juan Carlos has just spent his 85th birthday away from his family in the United Arab Emirates.
The funeral service in Greece on Monday for Constantine, who died on January 10 at the age of 82, will be attended by Felipe, his wife Queen Letizia, Queen Sofía, emeritus king Juan Carlos and the couple’s daughters, the infantas Elena and Cristina.
It will mark the first time that Juan Carlos and Sofía have reunited with their three children at the same time since 2020, when they came together for another funeral.
When Queen Elizabeth II died in September of last year, there was a frenzy in the Spanish press as to whether or not Juan Carlos would attend, given that he and the British monarch were distant relatives.
In the end, he was present, and sat at the funeral service accompanied by his wife Sofia, Felipe and Letizia. The move was widely criticised by left-wing parties such as Unidas Podemos given the scandals that have engulfed Juan Carlos in recent years.
Read more:
- Nephew of Spain’s King Felipe denies press reports of involvement in nightclub brawl
- Spain’s King Felipe loses 1.1 million viewers for traditional Christmas speech
- Ex-King Juan Carlos cancels quick return to Spain amidst fears of another ‘media circus’
