Ex-king returns to Spain from Abu Dhabi next week for regatta

In August 2020, former King Juan Carlos settled in Abu Dhabi, intending to return to Spain regularly, but the complex judicial situation in which he was placed prevented him from doing so. It was not until last May, after three cases before the Supreme Court were stayed, that the emeritus king got his wish to return to Spanish soil when he participated in the Sanxenzo regatta in Galicia.

Now, Juan Carlos I is again preparing to return to Spain. He will do so on Wednesday, April 19. And the chosen destination will again be Sanxenxo. He will return to the Spanish Cup to compete in the six-meter springboard with the Bribón team. It will be a whirlwind visit from Wednesday to Sunday, and he plans to return to Abu Dhabi on a private flight that day. And this time around, the former king is not expected to end his tour with a family lunch at the Zarzuela palace, as he did last May.

For now, the royal family is silent about Don Juan Carlos’ visit to Spain, although they are aware of it, even advising him not to travel in mid-May as he had planned so that his stay would not coincide with the May 28 municipal and regional elections election campaigns were carried out simultaneously.

Before arriving in Pontevedra, Felipe VI’s father will stop in London, where he will meet King Charles III for a private lunch. The meeting was due to the deep friendship and family ties that united the current King of England and Don Juan Carlos. In fact, it was at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral last September that King Philip and his father had their first public meeting.

In March 2020, Felipe announced that he would relinquish his inheritance from Don Juan Carlos, while withdrawing the allowances the former king had previously received from the royal family. Reports of the emeritus’ hidden wealth led the king to cut off his father in an attempt to put a firewall between Juan Carlos I and the scandalous royal family.