They designate the writer Laurence Debray as a new “close friend” of King Juan Carlos

The popular Spanish TV show “Sálvame” sparked a storm of comments after hinting that French writer Laurence Debray is the new “dear friend” of the former King of Spain Juan Carlos de Borbón.

The woman knows the former Spanish monarch very well, since on October 6 her book Mon roi décu (“Mon roi depu”) was put on sale in France, an authorized biography written from conversations she had with the king in Abu Dhabi, the Emirati city. in which he has been taking refuge since August 2020.

Daughter of The French philosopher Régis Debray -who was the right arm of “Che” Guevara in the Bolivian jungle- and some Venezuelan anthropologist Elizabeth Burgos, Laurence is 45 years old and defines herself as “the daughter of revolutionaries” in a memoir she published in 2018.

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“Since they didn’t tell me stories about princesses, I never believed in Prince Charming,” he said in his pages, wondering if he had built his personality “in opposition to “:”Anyway, I made myself thanks to what my parents weren’t», He condemned.

In her memoirs, Laurence Debray says to herself admirer of the history of Spain and in particular, of the period of Transition to democracy from where King Juan Carlos I played a key role. “She was a teenager, free, radiant and surrounded by friends and perfectly integrated. France no longer interested me, and the French sometimes made me ashamed, ”he said of the years he lived in Seville.

Debray also says “fan of the king of SpainLove which led her to publish a book in 2016 in which she told the story of Juan Carlos I until his abdication. In this biography, he recalls the interview that the king granted him for the France3 channel: “I had before me a discreet and spontaneous man. Is humility a sign of greatness?

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For his new book, which was published in extracts in the French magazine Paris Match, returned to interview the King of the United Arab Emirates. In friendly conversations, which took place through phone calls, messages and finally face to face, the king assured him that he had been under “a lot of pressure” to leave his country and that he had decided to do so in order “not to disturb the Crown.” “Some are very happy that I’m leaving,” the 83-year-old king told him.

Debray describes King Juan Carlos as “a fallen king, but above all he is a denied father”. “Maybe his biggest failure is there, in this denial. Political hero, the face and patriarchal anti-hero, the cross. A departure of his own, the punishment for a former sovereign fallen in disgrace ”, he writes while recounting that the man’s relationship with his son and successor to the throne, Felipe VI, is desperately broken.

But beyond the revelations in her book, the publication has once again brought attention to the seemingly intense love life of King Bourbon, who a few years ago ended a scandalous relationship with German businesswoman Corinna Larsen. Now, some Spanish media have openly commented on the possibility of Laurence Debray being the new beloved wife of the king, separated from Queen Sofia for decades.

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Journalist Ernesto Ekaizer released the hare a few days ago on a Catalan TV show: “The King Emeritus lives in his self-exile. I see that he wrote a book with a French writer, that he had an intimate relationship with him. I say that, ”he stressed. Hours later he apologized for what he said, but his initial comment was echoed.

Representatives of the famous Spanish Kiko Matamoros He recalled another alleged relationship the King had with British journalist Selina Scott, who lived with the monarch for two weeks for the production of a documentary: “Looking at the journalist’s physical profile, I think I said the taller one to her. As Umbral said, “I wouldn’t answer that even to a beautiful woman.” The king sees a pretty woman and his tongue goes all over the place. He was already doing it at the time with Selina Scott. It would not be the first time”.

Journalist Pilar Eyre, a great connoisseur of the secrets of the palace, recalled an interview in which Debray recognized this special link with the king: “I was the only one in the family – and I think in half of France – to like the King Juan Carlos. , there was something possessive about it because I studied him, I made a documentary with him… They are many years together ”.

In another interview, the writer thus withdrew from the passion: “My interest in the figure of Don Juan Carlos was born when I was very young”, she maintained, adding that the former monarch is “a very direct, very cordial, very sympathetic man.” “She’s a person with whom you immediately feel at ease, but very honest, very humble,” he said. “I know her setbacks and shortcomings, but I’m still fascinated by her sincerity and the detachment she feels for her image. He doesn’t deny his mistakes, he doesn’t try to be something other than himself ”.

Rumors about the closeness of the king and the writer even reached Laurence’s husband, writer Émile Servan-Schreiber, who wrote a message on Twitter mocking the affair: “So this morning, I learned from the Spanish press that my wife is the new lover of the former King of Spain. It’s amazing how vulgar and inserious the journalism of Elnacional.cat is ”. And he added: “But, my darling, you look beautiful in the photos!” “” I love you more and more after 15 years since our marriage, two children, two funerals, a pandemic, four books … Stronger together! “she replied.

CONFESSIONS OF A KING. “My father’s funeral was very beautiful. Now I have to think about mine, ”reflects Juan Carlos in Debray’s book. “I was reading an article where you say that if I had died before the hunt in Botswana, I would have died a hero. But, you know, I feel very good… ”, he admits at 83 years old. The author claims that the king, who ruled Spain between 1975 and 2004, “looks like an American pensioner” with “sneakers, jeans and a T-shirt” and stresses that he “is not complaining” even if he walks on crutches. “At 83, isolated but very connected, he relies on technology to escape nostalgia,” he writes. (ds)