Juan Carlos’ ex-lover Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn has called the former King of Spain “crazy” and claimed he called her office ten times a day under a false name.
The 58-year-old, who has had a five-year affair with the European monarch since 2004, will appear in the new investigative podcast series titled Corinna and the King, which will look at how and when her relationship with the former king began it eventually played a key role in Juan Carlos’ abdication in 2014.
The series starting next week, created by journalist Bradley Hope, is likely to coincide with Corinna’s High Court trial against Juan Carlos for alleged molestation and espionage.
As reported by The Times, the Danish businesswoman said that during her relationship with Juan Carlos, 84, she felt “married” and described him as “the husband of”. [her] Heart’.
She described him as “funny and rather stubborn,” albeit in an amusing way, and called him “one of the greatest seducers in the royal world.”
And she admitted she was happy to continue their affair because it “felt like his wife,” despite knowing he was dating several other women behind the back of his wife, Queen Sofia.
Corinna Larsen, 58, is pursuing a High Court case against her former lover Juan Carlos, 84, over alleged molestation and espionage. The mother-of-two pictured arriving for the court hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on March 29, 2022
In a podcast series, Corinna revealed that she first met the then-King in 2004 at a hunting party in southern Spain. The couple pictured at Schloss Schockingen in Stuttgart, Germany on February 2, 2006
Corinna and Juan Carlos were lovers for five years, and she described how she felt “married” to him during that time. The Spanish king welcomed his beloved on May 22, 2006 at the Laureus Awards in Barcelona
Corinna explained that she first met the then-King at the Duke of Westminster’s La Garganta estate in southern Spain, when they were both attending a hunting party.
That evening, the mother-of-two, who was then married to her second husband, Prince Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, said she impressed the king by breaking royal protocol and leaving the table before he had finished eating was .
Her boldness obviously impressed the king, because after the country getaway ended, Corinna claimed the king had started sending her flowers and love letters every day.
The businesswoman separated from her husband the following year and, she says, the affair with the king has intensified over the years.
Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014, passing the throne to his son King Felipe amid a money laundering scandal. King Felipe VI of Spain (second from left), his wife Queen Letizia (far left), their daughters Princess Sofia (front left) and Princess Leonor (front right), former King Juan Carlos I (second right) and his wife, the former Queen Sofia (right) before attending the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018
Under the false name “Mr. Sumer,” Corinna claims Juan Carlos calls her “10 times a day” at her Madrid office.
The former monarch had chosen the pseudonym as “Sumer” is an acronym for “Su Majestad el Rey”, which translates to “His Majesty the King”.
Although Corinna tried to pass it off as a business call, she said colleagues could see through the subterfuge because they recognized the King’s “booming and distinctive” voice.
Corinna’s new podcast series will also cover her involvement in the Juan Carlos money laundering investigation in Switzerland and Spain.
Following their split, Corinna claims the former monarch pressured her to repay €65m [£56m] which he transferred to her bank account in 2012.
Corinna described her ex-lover as “reckless and crazy” after he allegedly spied on and harassed her to repay the €65million he transferred to her bank account in 2012
That sum was a key aspect of the corruption case brought against the ex-king that led to his 2020 flight to Abu Dhabi.
He fled after Swiss prosecutors launched an investigation into bank accounts allegedly held by Juan Carlos in tax havens.
Spain launched its own investigation based in part on information shared by Switzerland, including one into cash the former king allegedly received as part of his involvement in a high-speed rail deal in Saudi Arabia.
Aisde stayed away from a brief visit to Spain earlier this year to take part in a sailing regatta in Galicia when his son King Felipe refused to allow him to stay at the royal palace.
But all charges against him were dropped last year for lack of evidence, immunity as head of state and expiry of the statute of limitations.
The decision came after he paid millions of pounds in tax regulations.
Regarding the money laundering allegations, Corinna said: “It became increasingly clear to me [that] he not only lived a double life, he lived a fivefold life.
“There’s something pretty crazy about him and something pretty ruthless about him. It’s about self-preservation. Imagine if someone who said you were the love of their life framed you on a criminal investigation.”
In her High Court action, Corinna alleges that Juan Carlos caused her “great emotional pain” by spying on and molesting her.
However, Juan Carlos has always denied any wrongdoing towards his ex-lover.
Lawyers representing Juan Carlos argued that he was “entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of the English courts in his capacity as a senior member of the Spanish royal family”.
But after a hearing in London in March, High Court Judge Justice Nicklin ruled against the former king, saying the case could now go ahead.
The former king abdicated in 2014 following a separate public outcry related to spousal infidelity.