King Juan Carlos I of Spain

Juan Carlos I; (Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria of Bourbon Bourbon-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Spain, since his abdication, Juan Carlos has usually been referred to as the ('King Emeritus').

Juan Carlos is the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the abolition of the monarchy in 1931 and the subsequent declaration of the Second Spanish Republic. Juan Carlos was born in Rome during his family's exile. Francisco Franco took over the government of Spain after his victory in the Spanish Civil War in 1939, yet in 1947 Spain's status as a monarchy was affirmed and a law was passed allowing Franco to choose his successor. Juan Carlos's father, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, was the third son of King Alfonso XIII and assumed his claims to the throne after Alfonso died in February 1941. However, Franco saw Juan to be too liberal and in 1969 declared Juan Carlos his successor as head of state.

Juan Carlos spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies. After completing his secondary education in 1955, he began his military training and entered the General Military Academy at Zaragoza. Later, he attended the Naval Military School and the General Academy of the Air, and finished his tertiary education at the University of Madrid. In 1962, Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens. The couple had two daughters and a son together: Elena, Cristina, and Felipe. Due to Franco's declining health, Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spain's head of state in the summer of 1974. Franco died in November the following year and Juan Carlos became king on 22 November 1975, two days after Franco's death, the first reigning monarch since 1931, although his exiled father did not formally renounce his claims to the throne in favor of his son until 1977.

Juan Carlos was expected to continue Franco's legacy.

However, Juan Carlos introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and to begin the Spanish transition to democracy soon after his accession. This led to the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum which re-established a constitutional monarchy. In 1981, Juan Carlos played a major role in preventing a coup that attempted to revert Spain to Francoist government in the King's name. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America. Hailed for his role in Spain's transition to democracy, the King and the monarchy's reputation began to suffer after controversies surrounding his family arose, exacerbated by the public controversy centering on an elephant-hunting trip he undertook during a time of financial crisis in Spain.

In June 2014, Juan Carlos, citing personal reasons, abdicated in favor of his son, who acceded to the throne as Felipe VI. Since August 2020, Juan Carlos has lived in self-imposed exile from Spain over allegedly improper ties to business deals in Saudi Arabia. The New York Times estimated in 2014 that Juan Carlos's fortune was around 1.8 billion euros (2.3 billion U.S. dollars).

Early Life (1938-1969)

Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria was born to Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, and Princess Maria de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies in their family home in Rome, where his grandfather King Alfonso XIII of Spain and other members of the Spanish royal family lived in exile following the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931. He was baptized as Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria of Bourbon-Bourbon-Dos Sicilies by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.

His early life was dictated largely by the political concerns of his father and General Franco. He moved to Spain in1948 to be educated there after his father persuaded Franco to allow it. He began his studies in San Sebastian and finished them in 1954 at the Institute San Isidro in Madrid. He then joined the army, doing his officer training from 1955 to 1957 at the Military Academy of Zaragoza. According to his sister Pilar, he had difficulty in his studies because of dyslexia.

Titles and Styles

5 January 1938-15 January 1941 His Royal Highness Infante Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria of Spain

15 January 1941-21 July 1969 His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias, Prince of Girona, Prince of Viana, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera, Lord of Balaguer

21 July 1969-22 November 1975 His Royal Highness The Prince of Spain

22 November 1975-19 June 2014 His Majesty The King of Spain

19 June 2014-present His Majesty King Juan Carlos

National Honors

-Sovereign Grand Master (1975-2014) and 1,171st Knight (1941) of the Royal Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece

-Grand Master (1975-2014) and Knight Collar (1962) of the Order of Charles III

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Order of Isabella the Catholic

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Order of Civil Merit

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Order of St. Raymond of Penafort

-Grand Master (1977-2014) of the Order of Cisneros

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Military Orders of Montesa, Alcantara, Calatrava and Santiago

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild

-Grand Master (1975-2014) of the Royal and Military Order of St Ferdinand

Foreign Honors

-Algeria: Order of the Athir

-Argentina: Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin (1 December 1978)

-Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria

-Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold

-Brazil: Grand Collar of the Order of the Southern Cross (1991)

-Bulgarian Royal Family: Knight of the Royal Order of Saints Cyril and Methodius

-Chile: Collar of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit

-Colombia: Grand Collar of the Order of Boyaca, Collar of the Order of San Carlos

-Zaire: Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Leopold

-Costa Rica: Grand Cross of Gold of the Order of Juan Mora Fernandez (27 January 1993)

-Czech Republic: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Lion (12 July 1995)

-Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant (17 March 1980)

-Dominican Republic: Collar of the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella (24 October 1969)

-Ecuador: Grand Collar of the National Order of San Lorenzo

-Egypt: Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile

-El Salvador: Grand Cross with Golden Star of the Order of Jose Matias Delgado, Special Class

-Estonia: Collar of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana

-Equatorial Guinea: Grand Cross with Collar of the National Order

-Ethiopian Imperial Family: Knight Grand Collar of the Imperial Order of Solomon, Knight Grand Cordon of the Imperial Order of the Seal of Solomon

-Finland: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose

-France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit

-Germany: Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

-Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer, Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Redeemer, Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Royal Order of Saints George Constantine, Recipient of the Commemorative Badge for the Centenary of the Greek Royal House

-Guatemala: Collar of the Order of the Quetzal

-Holy See: Knight of the Collar of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Knight of the Collar of the Order of Pius IX

-Honduras: Grand Cross with Gold Star of the Order of Francisco Morazan

-Hungary: Grand Cross with Chain the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary

-Iceland: Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Falcon

-Indonesia: Adipurna Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia

-Imperial State of Iran: Member 1st Class of the Imperial Order of Pahlavi, Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year Celebration of the Persian Empire

-Italy: Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

-Italian Royal Family: Knight of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, Knight of the Order of Saint Januarius, Bailiff Knight Grand Cross with Collar of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

-Jamaica: Member of the Order of Excellence

-Japan: Collar of the Order of the Chrysanthemum

-Jordon: Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali

-Kingdom of Nepal: Recipient of the Royal Mahendra Chain, Member of the Royal Order of Honor

-Kuwait: Collar of the Order of Mubarak the Great

-Latvia: Commander Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of the Three Stars

-Lebanon: Member Extraordinary Grade of the Order of Merit