Spain Readies Legal Protection for ex-King

Spanish politicians said Friday they are rushing to pass new legal protections for ex-king Juan Carlos to replace his lost royal immunity, which has shielded him from two paternity suits.

Juan Carlos, 76, lost his immunity from prosecution when he handed over the throne this week to his son, the new King Felipe, after a 39-year reign.

A senior ruling party lawmaker said it would slip in amendments on Friday to a pending judicial reform, to grant Juan Carlos legal privilege so only the Supreme Court can hear cases against him.

"We are going to introduce two amendments in order to settle a current and very important question... the judicial status of his majesty King Juan Carlos," said Alfonso Alonso, leader of the conservative Popular Party in the lower house of parliament.

"The amendments are aimed at providing judicial privilege for the king who has abdicated and his consort," Queen Sofia, Alonso told a news conference.

"The Supreme Court will be the only one to hear civil and criminal actions brought against them."

The privilege will also extend to Spain's new queen, Felipe's wife Letizia, and his eight-year-old daughter and heir Leonor, Princess of Asturias.

"We want to resolve this question as soon as possible," Alonso said. The next full session of parliament for voting through the reform is scheduled in the "second week of July", he added.

Juan Carlos won respect for helping steer Spain from dictatorship to democracy in the 1970s, but was hit by scandals later in his reign.

While he was king, Spain's 1978 constitution declared he would "not be held accountable".

In 2012 that thwarted two legal suits by plaintiffs claiming to be his children: Alberto Sola Jimenez from Spain's Catalonia region and Ingrid Jeanne Satiau, a Belgian national.