Juan Carlos I returns to Spain amid promotion of his memoirs: "Franco made me king to create a more open regime"

BarcelonaJuan Carlos I will publish his memoirs in France on November 5. This Wednesday, a week earlier, the former king made it clear that his objective is none other than to rehabilitate his image after five years of exile in Abu Dhabi. weekly Le Point He has released some excerpts from the book, in which the former monarch defends democracy as his "legacy" in Spain, and in an interview in Le Figaro He himself states that this was Franco's objective when he granted him accession to the throne: "Why lie if it was he who made me king and, in reality, did so to create a more open regime?" Coinciding with this promotion, Juan Carlos I lands in Spain this Wednesday.

As has been reported The World And sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ACN that the King Emeritus is traveling to Vitoria tonight for a visit with his regular physician. After the strike in the Basque Country, he will travel to Portugal, from where he is expected to go to Vigo in early November, where he is scheduled to participate in one of the regattas he regularly takes part in. In the excerpts from his book that have been released, Juan Carlos I laments his isolation in Abu Dhabi. In his memoirs, which are titled ReconciliationThe desire for rehabilitation is ever-present.

"I hope above all, during my life, to have a peaceful retirement, to renew a harmonious relationship with my son and, above all, to return to Spain, to my home," he says in one of the fragments published by Le Point. "Being forced into uprooting and isolation at the end of life is not easy. I am resigned, wounded by a feeling of abandonment. I cannot contain my emotion when I think of certain members of my family who no longer care, and especially when I think of Spain, which I miss so much. There are days of despair, of waiting."

Regarding the corruption scandals that led him to flee Spain, the emeritus king describes in the book as a "grave error" having accepted the 100 million euros that the King of Saudi Arabia gave him in August 2008. He insists, however, that Justice has never ultimately condemned herAlthough this has been the case due to the inviolability of the monarchy and the statute of limitations for some crimes. He also calls his relationship with Corinna Larsen "a mistake" that he "deeply regrets." "It had a detrimental impact on my reign and my family life. [...] It tarnished my reputation in the eyes of the Spanish people," he admits. In the conversation with Le Figaro He claims he went into exile to "help" his son, Felipe VI. "I looked for a place where journalists from my country couldn't easily find me," he admits. "Faced with pressure from the media and the government, after the existence of a bank account I had in Switzerland was revealed and completely unfounded accusations of kickbacks were made, I decided to leave so as not to hinder the proper functioning of the Crown," he says in the book in which he confesses that he "never" imagined the year that followed. Juan Carlos I complains that now that his son "has turned his back on him out of necessity" and his "so-called friends have disappeared," he realizes that he "has never been free." "My life has been dictated by the demands of Spain and the throne," he emphasizes. His role in the 23-F coup attempt

In the same interview, Juan Carlos I distanced himself from the attempted coup of February 23, 1981. He did so by explaining a conversation he allegedly had in 2023 at an event at the Élysée Palace with Javier Cercas, author of the book Anatomy of a MomentRegarding the 23-F coup attempt, he recounts, "I told him, 'How could you believe I was involved?'" He also denounces the betrayal of General Alfonso Armada, with whom he had a very close relationship, and who also participated in the attempted coup: "He was by my side for 17 years. I loved him very much, and he betrayed me. He convinced the generals that he was speaking on my behalf," he says.

The father of the current King of Spain insists on his role in ending the dictatorship: "Democracy didn't fall from the sky!" he says. And he adds that this was the reason that led him to publish his memoirs, written based on a conversation with French writer Laurence Debray"I hesitated about writing this book, but little by little I realized that the children and grandchildren of my friends had no idea who Franco was or about the democratic transition that followed. And the 70s aren't that long ago! I thought it was important to provide the direct testimony of what I experienced during 39 years," he argues.