December 20, 2007. Copyright 2007, Graphic News. All rights reserved

King Juan Carlos of Spain enters eighth decade in early 2008
By Joanna Griffin

LONDON, December 20, Graphic News: King Juan Carlos is largely a figurehead and symbol of unity in Spain, but he is clearly one who is not above engaging in a political spat should the occasion demand. On the eve of his 70th birthday on January 5, the monarch has been making headlines.

Fears grew in November that an exchange between the king and VenezuelaÕs President Hugo Chavez could escalate into a full-blown diplomatic stand-off after the monarch told Chavez: ÒWhy donÕt you just shut up?Ó after the latter called SpainÕs former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar Òa facistÓ at the Ibero-American summit in Chile.

Chavez then attempted to fan the controversy by suggesting that the monarch had known in advance of a 2002 coup against him, but the incident won praise for Juan Carlos in Spain, where he is still revered for his role in shaping its modern democracy. These day he might be mostly occupied with outdoor leisure pursuits, but it was not always so.

Born in Rome, Italy, on January 5, 1938, Juan Carlos was the grandson of King Alfonso XIII, who had been forced into exile in 1931 after the declaration of the second Spanish republic. He arrived, aged nine, to be educated in Madrid with special permission from General Franco. He later studied at leading military academies, and Madrid University.

When Franco decided that his successor would be a monarch and that he did not trust AlfonsoÕs son Juan de Borbon for the task, he began to groom Juan Carlos to take over, in the belief that the young prince would preserve the authoritarian nature of his regime. After the dictatorÕs death in 1975, Juan Carlos was proclaimed king and immediately announced that he would be Òking of all Spaniards without exceptionÕ.

King Juan Carlos, who has since spoken of the burden placed on him during this period, set about introducing democratic reforms, and in 1977 Spain held its first post-Franco democratic elections. The changes angered ultra-conservative groups and incurred the wrath of pro-Franco factions in the military, who in 1981 staged an attempted coup.

In the intervening decades King Juan Carlos has remained largely a symbolic figure. While he and his family are considered less aloof and regal than, for instance, their English counterparts, offences against them are prohibited by law. In recent months there have been demands for more accountability from the jet-setting royals whose sailing and skiing habits are a staple of glossy magazines.

Despite having little real power, King Juan Carlos has occasionally ignited controversy by seeming to make a political statement: he recently drew sharp disapproval from Rabat over his two-day visit to SpainÕs two enclaves in Morocco.

He and Queen Sofia have two daughters and a son, Prince Felipe, whose wedding in 2004 to glamorous television presenter Letizia Ortiz revived public enthusiasm for the monarchy. In other quarters, however, it has been on the wane. In October he took the unprecedented step of defending his role as head of state after separatists in Catalonia burned images of the royals in protest against their rule over the region.

Of course, some of his current difficulties are inevitable. As King Juan Carlos prepares to enter his eighth decade, fewer Spaniards remember how he helped to dismantle a particularly sinister regime and others are simply impatient to usher in his son Felipe. With the king in such rude good heath and robust mood, however, thatÕs likely to be some way off.
/ENDS