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Manila Bulletin devider World devider Spain's exiled former king makes second visit home

Spain's exiled former king makes second visit home

Published Apr 19, 2023 12:46 pm
VIGO, Spain - Spain's disgraced former king Juan Carlos returned home on Wednesday for the second time since he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 amid fraud investigations. The 85-year-old arrived in Vigo in northwestern Spain on a private jet from London, where he attended Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League, according to an AFP photographer on the scene. Former king of Spain Juan Carlos I (L) sits in a car after disembarking upon his arrival at the Peinador airport in Vigo, in northwestern Spain, on April 19, 2023 before heading to the Galician town of Sanxenxo to attend in a regatta. The 85-year-old Spain's disgraced former king Juan Carlos returned home on April 19 to attend a regatta, for only the second time since he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 amid fraud investigations.  MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP He will spend several days in the nearby resort of Sanxenxo, where he stayed in May 2022 during his first trip back to Spain since going into self-imposed exile in the UAE. His yacht "El Bribon" -- Spanish for "The Rascal" -- will take part in a regatta over the weekend, as it did last year. Neither the Royal Palace nor Spain's leftist government commented on the visit, with government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez saying she had "nothing to say about this topic". "It is a personal decision" on the part of the former king, she added. Last year's visit sparked much criticism, especially from parties on the left which demand he account for the scandals that prompted his 2014 abdication in favour of his son, Felipe. "Explanations for what?" he retorted when a television journalist asked if he would explain his behaviour. The former monarch is expected to be more discreet this time.  Spanish prosecutors in March 2022 closed three probes into his finances due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations, but said irregularities had been found. Revelations about the murky origins of his fortune have done irreparable damage to a figure once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy following the death of long-time dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.

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