Ex-King Juan Carlos Making a Royal Return After 2-Year Exile [REPORT]

By Alexandria Reeves

Spain's former King Juan Carlos is making his return to his country since leaving as part of his two-year exile.

Several news outlets, including France 24 and BBC, shared the confirmation from the royal palace, saying that he will arrive on Thursday before going back to the United Arab Emirates next week.

Reports revealed that Juan Carlos I would visit a yachting event in Sanxenxo before traveling to Madrid on Monday to meet his son, King Felipe VI, and the other members of the royal family.

"[The visit] is part of His Majesty King Juan Carlos' desire to travel frequently to Spain to visit family and friends, organize his personal life and his place of residence in areas of a private nature, as expressed in the letter addressed to His Majesty the King on March 5," the statement went on.

In the past two years, only his daughters traveled to Abu Dhabi to visit him. His son, King Felipe VI, and his wife of 60 years, Queen Sofia, have not seen him since his exile.

His scheduled visit came two months after Spain's Public Prosecutor's Office revealed that it dropped three separate investigations into his bombshell financial affairs. According to the findings, the allegations have insufficient evidence.

They also cited the immunity he held while serving as king and the statute of limitations.

Ex-King Juan Carlos Cannot Receive Criminal Action

The Public Prosecutor's Office, following the announcement, clarified that the prosecutor's decision did not mean absolution.

"The public prosecutor wishes to make it clear that, despite the investigation, no criminal action can be taken against His Majesty Juan Carlos de Borbón for the reasons outlined in the decree - basically the lack of incriminating evidence, the statute of limitations, the inviolability of the head of state, and tax regularization," it went on.

It all started in June 2020 when Spain's Supreme Court began an investigation to look into the alleged participation of Juan Carlos in a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia.

It immediately damaged the Spanish monarchy and brought humiliation to then-King Felipe, who ruled for six years.

Some royal supporters thought it was impossible to believe that the former monarch would do something like that since he personally transformed Spain from a dictatorship to a democracy after General Franco's death in 1975.

But in the end, he lost his position due to the case.