Spain's former king Juan Carlos is leaving the country to live abroad after being caught in financial corruption allegations that have exploded over the summer.
The Spanish royal family's website confirmed the move and published a letter from Juan Carlos to his son, King Felipe VI, on Monday in which he said the decision was taken "with deep feeling but great calm".
"Guided by my desire to do what is best to serve the Spanish people, its institutions and you as king, I am informing you of my … decision to leave Spain at this time," he wrote.
The swift exit was designed to protect the monarchy from becoming entwined in Juan Carlos's scandal, Reuters reported. However, Spaniards appear divided on whether the exile was right or if the former monarch should have stayed to face a trial.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he found the allegations against Juan Carlos "disturbing".
Pressure had been building for weeks on the former king and his son to take action to shore up the monarchy after Spanish and Swiss prosecutors started looking into bribery allegations related to high-speed rail contracts.
It was not immediately known where Juan Carlos, 82, had moved although Portuguese TV and tabloids suggested he was in the resort town of Cascais near Lisbon where he spent part of his childhood, but offered no sourcing for the claim. Other reports suggested he was on his way to the Dominican Republic via Portugal.
Switzerland's La Tribune de Genève newspaper reported in March that Juan Carlos had received $100 million (Dh367m) from a previous Saudi administration over a high-speed rail contract.
That was followed by a regular drip-feed of allegations in the Spanish media, which included that he gave much of the money to a former mistress.
Through his lawyer, Javier Sanchez-Junco, Juan Carlos has repeatedly declined to comment on the corruption allegations.
On Monday, Mr Sanchez-Junco said in a brief statement that the former king, who ruled for 40 years, would "remain at the disposal of the prosecutors' office".
Spanish monarchs have immunity during their reign but Juan Carlos's abdication potentially leaves himself vulnerable to prosecution.
Juan Carlos came to the throne in 1975 after the death of General Francisco Franco and was widely respected for his role in helping guide Spain from dictatorship to democracy.
But his popularity sank in later years owing to a series of scandals, prompting him to step down in 2014.
Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias, of the leftist Podemos party, said the decision to leave would damage the monarchy in Spain.
"Juan Carlos de Borbon's flight abroad is an act unworthy of a former head of state and it leaves the monarchy in a very compromised position," Mr Iglesias said on his Facebook page.
Opinion polls have shown that Spaniards are roughly equally split over whether their country should remain a monarchy or become a republic – a step that is impossible under the current constitution, itself very hard to change amid a highly fragmented parliament.
The government had repeatedly asked King Felipe to take steps to distance himself further from Juan Carlos after he put an end to his father's palace allowance and renounced his own inheritance in March, following allegations of secret offshore accounts reported to be linked to the Saudi rail contract. – additional reporting by agencies
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
New Zealand squad
Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
More on Quran memorisation:
The specs
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
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Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
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Visit Abu Dhabi culinary team's top Emirati restaurants in Abu Dhabi
Yadoo’s House Restaurant & Cafe
For the karak and Yoodo's house platter with includes eggs, balaleet, khamir and chebab bread.
Golden Dallah
For the cappuccino, luqaimat and aseeda.
Al Mrzab Restaurant
For the shrimp murabian and Kuwaiti options including Kuwaiti machboos with kebab and spicy sauce.
Al Derwaza
For the fish hubul, regag bread, biryani and special seafood soup.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
