La Zarzuela has included in its official agenda, made public this Friday, the presence of the kings Juan Carlos and Sofía in the acts that will take place in London on the occasion of the funeral of Elizabeth II. Like every Friday, the Zarzuela has made public the activities planned for next week, including the attendance of King Felipe and Queen Letizia, as official representatives, but a note is also included informing of the presence of the kings Juan Carlos and Sofia at the reception that Carlos III will offer to the guests on Sunday, and also the attendance of the King's parents at the funeral.
The King and Queen and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, will hold the official representation of the Spanish state, while it is considered that Juan Carlos and Sofía attend the funeral on their own behalf and, in the case of the King's father, also in his " status of former head of state", as stated in the note that Zarzuela has included in the official agenda.
Juan Carlos will travel from Abu Dhabi to Madrid, while Queen Sofía will travel on the official plane together with the King and Queen and the Foreign Minister. Once in London, the King and Queen will stay at the ambassador's residence, while Queen Sofía will go to the hotel where King Juan Carlos will also stay. Once the ceremonies are over, the King and Queen Sofía will return to Madrid, while Queen Letizia will travel directly from London to New York to participate in UNICEF events organized within the scope of the United Nations General Assembly. King Juan Carlos will return to Abu Dhabi, where he has his permanent residence installed.
In addition to Kings Felipe and Letizia, both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are members of the royal family, as are Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia. The rest of Felipe VI's relatives are considered relatives of the King, but do not belong to the royal family. The inclusion, for information purposes, of the name of Juan Carlos in the official agenda of the Zarzuela is of special relevance, since the resolution of the appeal filed by the defense of King Juan Carlos in which his condition is alleged is pending in the British Court. of former head of state and member of the royal family to avoid being charged in the lawsuit that Corinna Larsen has filed for alleged harassment.
King Juan Carlos, like Queen Sofia, appears in the official invitation to the funeral that the British royal house, through the Foreign Office, sent to Zarzuela, through the Spanish embassy in London. The invitation was extended to the current head of state, the previous one and his and the Zarzuela's consorts after confirming the presence of Felipe and Letizia, I await the positive response of Juan Carlos and Sofia to also confirm their attendance at the funeral. Despite the official status of the estates involved in the invitation route, from the first moment it was clear that the official representation of Spain corresponded to Kings Felipe and Letizia and that the presence of King Juan Carlos and Sofia was in a personal capacity. and familiar. La Zarzuela, likewise, reported that regarding the protocol and logistics of the funeral, the provisions of the British protocol would be followed.
King Juan Carlos announced his withdrawal from public life on June 2, 2019, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the announcement of his abdication. From the proclamation of Felipe VI until that date, the previous head of state continued to appear on the official agenda of the Zarzuela every time he attended an official act, alone, in the company of Queen Sofía, or together with the new kings. In addition to acts of representation in Spain, King Juan Carlos traveled abroad on several occasions, attending various inaugurations of Latin American leaders, the signing of peace agreements in Colombia and funerals for Fidel Castro, among other events.
Since he left his representative tasks, all the public appearances of King Juan Carlos were private, as was his presence at the funeral of his sister, the Infanta Pilar, who died on January 8, 2020.
On March 15, 2020, after the link between King Juan Carlos and opaque foundations appeared in several media outlets, King Felipe made public a statement in which, in addition to disassociating himself from those foundations, he renounced the possible inheritance of his father and, in addition, he withdrew the allocation, of around 190,000 euros, that Juan Carlos I received from the budgets of the Casa del Rey. Five months later, and after the avalanche of new information about alleged financial irregularities, social and government pressure, King Juan Carlos decided to leave Spain and communicated this to his son in a letter dated August 3, 2020 Days later it was learned that his destination was Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates where he continues to reside almost two years later.
Since leaving Spain, King Juan Carlos has only returned briefly to attend some nautical tests in Sanxenxo (Pontevedra) between May 19 and 22, an stay that closed on May 23 with a lightning visit to the Zarzuela. That day, Felipe VI and Juan Carlos I held a meeting in which, later, it was learned that the King had advised his father against a new visit, announced for the second week of June, given the criticism for the overexposure of the previous Head of State, who had been asked for discretion and prudence on his trip. Although it was the attention of the media that overdimensioned the stay of the emeritus in Sanxenxo, the truth is that, since then, King Juan Carlos has resigned, for the moment to return to Spain not even for a visit.
