Spain's King Juan Carlos Beat Coup, Not Scandal
Juan Carlos I, who gave up the Spanish crown Wednesday aged 76, led Spain to democracy and foiled a military coup, winning widespread respect that later crumbled under royal scandals.
The abdicating king played a determining role in Spain's modern history when he stepped up as the first crowned head of state in 44 years after the death of General Francisco Franco.
He took the throne within days of Franco's death in November 1975, having been named successor by the dictator himself, who passed over Juan Carlos's father, Juan de Borbon.
"Faithful to the political desire of my father... I wanted to be king for all Spaniards," Juan Carlos said in his abdication address on June 2, recalling the day of his proclamation.
Juan Carlos defied the Francoists by ushering in a new system of parliamentary monarchy. A new constitution was passed by referendum in 1978.
Juan Carlos was credited with helping to defuse an attempted coup in February 1981 by soldiers who stormed into parliament shooting and who held lawmakers hostage for several hours.
The king's appearance on television urging support for the democratic government was instrumental in blocking the attempt.
"I knew the soldiers were going to agree because I had been named by Franco" and was their commander in chief, he said later. He knew most of the officers from his military training.
His blocking of the coup helped endear him to the nation, but the king's image later suffered from scandals.
One of the most damaging was a corruption investigation targeting his youngest daughter Cristina and her husband, former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin.
The couple are waiting to hear whether they must stand trial -- Cristina on tax fraud charges and Urdangarin for alleged embezzlement.
Both deny wrongdoing, but the taint of corruption over the royal family outraged many Spaniards suffering from an economic slump, austerity policies and towering unemployment.
A keen sportsman and hunter, he angered many Spaniards in 2012 by taking a luxury elephant-hunting trip to Botswana, seen as an unacceptable extravagance during a recession.
The trip came to light only because he broke his right hip and was flown home for surgery.
With polls showing public support for the monarchy was slipping in the economic crisis, the king apologized publicly as he emerged from hospital on crutches.
His medical problems raised further questions over his reign.
Between May 2010 and November 2013, he had surgery nine times, including two operations on his right hip and three on his left.
Polls had shown Juan Carlos's popularity plunging since the Urdangarin scandal erupted in 2011.
In the days after he announced he was abdicating, his approval rating strengthened, however.
A Sigma Dos poll published on June 9 in El Mundo newspaper said 65 percent of Spaniards believed his reign was good or very good, up from 41 percent in January.
Among those aged 18 to 29, however, just 46.1 percent backed the monarchy as an institution, while 46.3 percent said they would prefer a different model of state.
In May 1962 Juan Carlos married Sofia, a Greek princess. They were both keen sailors and had met on a cruise.
With Franco's blessing, the couple settled at the Zarzuela palace near Madrid and had three children: Elena, Cristina and Felipe, who as male heir now bypasses his elders sisters to the throne.
Juan Carlos and Sofia's relationship is said to have grown more distant in recent years, however.
Source: Agence France Presse
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