Juan Carlos, on Felipe VI: "He is a good king, but he is going through a very difficult time."

ParisThree weeks after the publication in France of the emeritus king's memoirs, Juan Carlos I gave an interview this Wednesday on the public television channel France 3 in which he elaborated on ideas from the book. ReconciliationIn a very friendly conversation, the father of the current King of Spain reviews the key moments of the Transition and speaks about Felipe VI, for whom he always has kind words. However, the King Emeritus believes that the Spanish political situation and the global context have placed him in a difficult position. "He is a good king, but he is going through a very difficult time and we must support him," he says. When the interviewer, journalist Stéphane Bern, asks him why he is going through a difficult time, Juan Carlos offers a vague answer. "The political moment, in all countries, is very difficult," he replies before the interviewer moves on to another topic. In the book, The former monarch makes direct criticisms of the Spanish government, which she accuses of weakening the monarchy and democracy.as well as the pro-independence political parties, but in the interview he doesn't mention the issue directly and simply says that his son is going through a difficult time.

In one of the few times he asks uncomfortable questions, the journalist addresses Juan Carlos's mistakes, which led first to his abdication and then to his departure from Spain, such as extramarital affairs, the alleged commissions in the awarding of the AVE high-speed rail contract to Mecca to companies worth 10 trillion euros, and a tax haven. On this matter, the emeritus king is adamant and refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing. "I'm used to feeling all sorts of things. Everyone can think what they want. But everything is settled, everything is over, I'm at peace," he maintains.

"Do you regret anything?" the interviewer asks. "No," he replies. "And do you have any remorse?" he insists. "No. I try not to," he answers. The answer is not surprising, given that his memoirs are an attempt to whitewash his mistakes and vindicate his role during the Transition. When, in the interview, he takes stock of his reign, he asserts that what he is most proud of is having brought democracy to Spain. "I am the 'father of the Constitution,'" he proclaims. He also maintains that he never had any doubts about his path to democracy: "No, I didn't doubt. Parliament was Francoist, but little by little it changed," he explains.

Apologies to the family and the Spanish people

However, at other points in the roughly 25-minute interview, it's clear she expresses regret for some things. "I have served Spain, the Spanish people, and sometimes I haven't paid enough attention to my family. I hope they will forgive me and that the Spanish people will understand what I have done," she states. At another point in the conversation, she admits that if she were to go through the same thing again, she would do things differently. In fact, in her memoirs, she speaks more frankly and admits to having made "mistakes" out of love and friendship. "I am no saint," the former monarch writes in the book.

The interviewer does not delve into her relationship with Franco –as Juan Carlos does refer to the memoirs—but it does address the coexistence in Spain of the emeritus king and the dictator. The former head of state maintains that Franco always knew his plans were to bring democracy to the country. To support his thesis, he cites as an example the interview he gave to an American newspaper during the dictatorship, in which he declared his intention to restore democracy. When he returned to Spain from his trip to the US—according to Juan Carlos's account—Franco summoned him to his office. "I thought he would be really angry with me. But he told me, 'Your Highness, what cannot be said here must be said there,'" he asserts.

Betrayal of his father

The emeritus king also evokes his father, Juan de Borbón, in the interview. He asserts that when Franco chose him, and not his father, to be his successor, he had doubts. "I always saw him [my father] as the next king. When Franco appointed me, I really doubted it. I told myself it was a betrayal of my father," he recounts. And he affirms that afterwards, the Count of Barcelona was his "advisor" and a "friend." In his memoirs, Juan Carlos states that he would like to return to Spain and be buried "with honors." In the interview, he admits that he doesn't know exactly when that will be: "I don't know if it will be in a few years, or next year, or in a few months. It will depend on the situation and the moment," he explains. The conversation, recorded in Abu Dhabi, airs tonight on France 3, but the public broadcaster has been offering it on its website since this morning. King Felipe VI's father, who boasts of returning to Spain every month to compete in sailing regattas and eat well, speaks perfect French – the former monarch considers it her mother tongue, as she reveals to Reconciliation—but he speaks with little enunciation and looks tired and aged. He will turn 88 in January.