Juan Carlos I returns to Spain. He is expected to land at Peinador Airport in Vigo (Pontevedra) this Thursday afternoon for a five-day stay in his country after 654 days abroad in Abu Dhabi. The plane in which the former head of state is returning is a Gulfstream G450, a jet owned and operated by the Angolan company Bestfly, registered in Aruba (Netherlands Antilles). It is not known who paid for the flight, which left Abu Dhabi at 10:30am (Peninsula time) and was due to land at 18:23, although its arrival will be delayed. Two hours earlier, the eldest of his daughters, the Infanta Elena, had been waiting for the retired king at the Galician airport.
During his stay in Galicia until next Monday, Juan Carlos I will be staying at the home of Pedro Campos, President of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo (Pontevedra) and close friend of the King Emeritus. Speaking to journalists ahead of the former head of state’s arrival, Campos assured that he was “very excited” and “very excited” to return to Spain after almost two years living abroad in the Persian Gulf. “He is excited, with great enthusiasm, to return to Spain. This is the main message that moved me. Then he told me he wanted to see the crew [del Bribón, el velero con el que ganó la Copa del Mundo de la clase 3mR en 2019 en Finlandia]. According to Juan Carlos I’s close friend, who last spoke to him on Wednesday, he “fully knows” that his return to Spain has raised “great expectations”.
Juan Carlos I is expected to receive a reception at the Yacht Club this Friday morning. “This evening [por el jueves] We will give you more precise data so you know that so many people will be found tomorrow,” Campos added. Although he has admitted to feeling “overwhelmed” by the anticipation raised by the arrival of the king emeritus, he has called it “normal” because Juan Carlos I has “more good things than bad”.
A Civil Guard stationed at the gates of the house of Pedro Campos, President of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo (Pontevedra), where the King Emeritus is awaited Lavandeira Lavandeira Jr. (EFE)
The President of the Yacht Club has not revealed whether the emeritus king will take part in the last preparatory test for the 6mR World Championship, which is scheduled for June 10-19, as a skipper or whether he will only participate as a spectator. “He hasn’t sailed in three years, although he says he’s in very good physical condition,” said Campos. Instead, he is convinced that the king emeritus will return to Sanxenxo between June 10th and 19th to defend the world title of sailboat champion in his class.
Juan Carlos I will travel to Madrid on Monday, where he will meet Felipe VI and Queen Sofía for a lunch at the Zarzuela, where his daughter-in-law, Queen Letizia, and his granddaughter, Infanta Sofía, will not be present, as confirmed. Afterwards, travel back to Abu Dhabi without spending the night at the Palacio de La Zarzuela. The government had opposed Juan Carlos I spending the night at the palace, as it was not only the residence of the royal family but also the headquarters of the head of state.
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Casa del Rey issued a statement early Wednesday night, reporting that Don Juan Carlos had asked him to publicly announce his decision to move to Spain starting tomorrow [jueves] Day 19 to next Monday May 23″.
The statement added that Juan Carlos I plans to “stay in the town of Sanxenxo, in Pontevedra, during these dates and travel to Madrid on Monday 23 to meet Felipe VI, Queen Sofía and other members of his family to be together. [que no especifica, aunque solo puede referirse a su nuera, la reina Letizia, y a su nieta, la infanta Sofía, ya que la Princesa de Asturias está interna en un colegio de Gales (Reino Unido)] at the Palace of La Zarzuela,” adds the statement. “On the same day,” he emphasizes, “the King Emeritus will return to Abu Dhabi, where he has his permanent and stable residence.”
View of the Real Club Náutico de Sanxenxo, yesterday.Lavandeira jr (EFE)
La Zarzuela explained that Queen Sofía “travelled to Miami (United States) to be privately present at the activities organized in that city by Queen Sofia’s Spanish Institute to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the world that coincided with the arrival in Miami of the Navy training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano”. The wife of the former head of state will not return to Spain until Sunday 22nd, so it will be Monday 23rd when she meets Don Juan Carlos. This justifies the King Emeritus going to the Sanxenxo regattas before visiting the royal family at La Zarzuela.
The return of Don Juan Carlos has not been free of controversy. The organization of the trip was complicated by the refusal of the government inherited from the House of King to allow Juan Carlos I to spend the night at La Zarzuela, claiming that it was not the private residence of the royal family but the headquarters of the condition ; and stresses that while the king emeritus is absolved of any criminal liability – by virtue of the immunity he enjoyed as a former head of the crown, by the statute of limitations on crimes or by the fiscal regularization he has put forward – he has not given either an explanation nor has he asked the Spanish company to apologize for their behavior.
For this reason, after participating in the regattas and having lunch at his 60-year-old home, he will return to Abu Dhabi, where he has had his permanent residence since leaving Spain on August 3, 2020. when several cases were still pending before the Spanish and Swiss public prosecutor’s offices because of his alleged assets abroad (now these cases have already been archived). In any case, the idea is that the first visit of the king emeritus is to normalize his presence in Spain and give way to regular visits until his final return.