The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, bid farewell to public life

Madrid "The time has come to move on to a new page of my life and to complete my withdrawal from public life," said 81-year-old Juan Carlos, in a letter to his son, l & # 39; current king of Spain, Felipe VI.

He announced that he would cease his institutional activities and retire from public life as of June 2, when five years have pbaded since the announcement of his abdication. Although the decision is effective from next Sunday, the "emeritus" king has scheduled no public activity this week.

His last institutional activity took place on May 17, when placing the Spanish orders 2019 to the historian Miguel Angel Ladero at the Royal Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

Thus, after 39 years of reign and five years in a situation of partial retirement, in which his functions are not regulated, Juan Carlos takes the last step back and away from the agenda of Zarzuela.

The Spanish Government and the Royal House announced the abdication of Juan Carlos I on June 2, 2014, although the entry into force came into force only on June 18, the date of the adoption of the organic law that made the accession to the throne of Felipe VI. A day later, he was proclaimed in court as the new king of Spain.

Carry

The news arrived at the epicenter of a serious image crisis for the Spanish crown, marked above all by the judicial investigation into the Noós case, for which Iñaki Urdangarín, husband of Infanta Cristina, would be sentenced and imprisoned. She sat on the bench, although eventually the court exempted her.

With the arrival of Felipe VI, the royal family is reduced to the core – the king, the queen and his two daughters – and the emeritus Juan Carlos and Sofia, while the infantas Cristina and Elena become the family of the King.

Measures were approved to promote transparency, a new code of conduct that banned, for example, gifts that went beyond the institutional framework or mere courtesy; and a speech was made in favor of austerity, the independence of justice and the fight against corruption.

Meanwhile, the role of the emeritus king in the official agenda is unobtrusive. After participating in sporting events and represented Spain during an inauguration in Latin America, his agenda was inaugurated as such in October of the same year, while he had already moved his office to the royal palace.

A hectic life

Born in Rome, Italy, on January 5, 1938, Juan Carlos I had a decisive intervention in the coup d'etat of February 23, 1981, which earned him worldwide respect for his defense of democracy. This alleviated the bad image he had given during his visit to Argentina in 1978 during the military dictatorship. Although he embraced Jorge Rafael Videla, he also received human rights activists in Buenos Aires.

During his reign, he promoted a new style in Ibero-American relations, participating in all the summits held since 1991, and he has always remembered the European vocation of Spain.

His first official trip abroad as King Emeritus went to Colombia on August 5, 2014, to attend the inauguration of Juan Manuel Santos' second term. He also met Mauricio Macri

The last ones he made in Cuba, in November 2016, to attend the funeral of Fidel Castro; and in Chile for the inauguration of Sebastián Piñera in 2018.

Juan Carlos I has been operated a dozen times in recent years.

Due to their particular relevance, interventions in May 2010 to remove a pulmonary nodule and, in April 2012, for a hip fracture stand out. The latter coincided with a critical moment of the Spanish economic crisis and after a private trip to Botswana.

In an unprecedented move, he publicly apologized, saying, "I'm really sorry, I was wrong and it will not happen again."

Transcendental Figure of Spanish Democracy

They recognize their role in the return of freedoms.

The president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juan Manuel Moreno, emphasized the role "transcendental" that King Juan Carlos I played in the return of freedoms, while expressing his "gratitude and loyalty". "He has been one of Spain's recognition craftsmen among the most advanced countries in the world," Moreno added in a message posted on his personal Twitter account.

Moments of a long reign