Juan Carlos I defends Franco in his memoirs: "I have never allowed anyone to criticize him in front of me"

ParisNovember 20, 1975, is etched in the memory of many citizens. The death of dictator Francisco Franco marked a turning point in Spanish history: shortly afterward, the dictatorship came to an end, and the path to democracy began. Franco's demise also meant the restoration of the Spanish monarchy with Juan Carlos I—untainted by the legacy of the previous monarch, Alfonso XIII—as king. In just under two weeks, the 50th anniversary of the dictator's death will be commemorated, and the Spanish government has prepared a series of events to mark this golden jubilee of freedom. But the emeritus king, who played a prominent role in the Transition, will not participate. Pedro Sánchez's government has decided not to invite him. The announcement to exclude the former monarch from the festivities coincided with the publication in France this week of the memoirs of the emeritus king – who retired to Abu Dhabi five years ago due to the scandals that led to his abdication – in which he defends the Franco regime.

In the book, ReconciliationIn his memoir, to be published in Spanish on December 3, Juan Carlos I publicly expresses his resentment towards the current government and recounts his close relationship with Franco, whom he speaks of with tenderness and admiration without any shame. The former monarch never refers to him as a dictator, but rather as "the general" or simply Franco, and describes the almost paternal relationship they shared. "We were 46 years apart in age. He had no children. Perhaps he projected a paternal feeling onto me. He didn't hide the affection he felt for me. Even a certain tenderness and kindness," he asserts. The emeritus king explains that they met regularly in his office at El Pardo Palace and at the Pazo de Meirás during vacations, and that he often accompanied the dictator to official events: "I went to see him at El Pardo almost every week. We had informal conversations, although the context was always formal [...]. I appreciated these encounters; he always made himself available."

On one occasion, Juan Carlos fell asleep in the official car on the way to a ceremony, his head resting on Franco's shoulder. Franco woke him when they arrived. "I didn't see any reproach in his eyes; he even seemed amused that I had fallen asleep," he recalls. "His animosity toward my father was never reflected in my relationship with him."

King thanks to Franco

It was already known that Franco did not have a smooth relationship with Joan de Borbó, the pretender to the Spanish throne. That is why he designated his son, Juan Carlos, as his successor in 1969. "If I am king, it is thanks to him," the emeritus king writes in his memoirs, written in French. The former monarch explains in detail the tensions between the dictator and his father and how Franco, thinking about naming his successor, imposed Juan Carlos's education: he forced him to study in Spain and not in another country as his father wanted, and to train as a soldier in the three academies—army, navy, and air force—beforehand.

The emeritus king also recounts the moment he met the dictator. It was 1948, and Juan Carlos de Borbón was 10 years old. Their encounter impressed him. "He was very affectionate. We have an image of him as a severe and cold man, but in private, or at least with me, he was always kind, smiling, and talkative," he writes. Years later, when he had already settled in Spain at the Zarzuela Palace, Franco invited him sailing and fishing during his holidays in Galicia. According to the former monarch's account, he even allowed the future king to take photographs of him with a camera his mother had given him. Throughout the nearly 500 pages, Juan Carlos I makes many references to and praises of Franco, whom he always speaks of with admiration. "I respected him enormously, I appreciated his intelligence and his political acumen," he writes. "I never allowed anyone to criticize him in my presence," he states. The former monarch also reviews the events of February 23, 1981, insisting that he had no complicity in the coup, and recalls the last thing the dictator asked of her as he lay dying: "I ask only one thing of you: maintain the unity of Spain." Whitewashing Francoism

In his memoirs, written on the eve of the commemoration of the end of 50 years of fascist dictatorship, the emeritus king does not hesitate to whitewash Francoism and adopt a position equidistant between those who lost the Civil War and suffered the harsh Francoist repression, and those who emerged victorious. Far from condemning the dictatorship, Juan Carlos I defends Franco's 40 years in power and asks that one of the darkest periods in Spain's recent history not be forgotten.

"For some, he remains the man of the Civil War, implacably responsible for thousands of deaths. For others, he embodies the stability achieved after decades of tension and unrest [...]. There will never be consensus, which is legitimate, but we cannot simply be erased." Juan Carlos I cites as an example of the Franco regime's positive aspects the legacy "of a social security system that is still in place today." In one passage of the book, the former monarch emphasizes that a king must maintain political neutrality and recalls advice given to her by Franco, which—she claims—has guided her throughout her life: "A silent mouth is never beaten." With his memoirs, the emeritus king seems to have definitively betrayed the advice of his admired Franco.