Spanish former king goes to battle with ex-mistress

Juan Carlos has become entangled in an intense courtroom battle with his former mistresses. Spain watches in astonishment as all the skeletons keep falling out of the Spanish royal family's closet.

Former king Juan Carlos (87) of Spain is dragging several people to court who have “defamed” him since his abdication and is “prepared to go to the bitter end”. After all, he is accused of corruption, fraud and intimidation.

Juan Carlos now lives in exile and is dragging his former mistress Corinna Larsen (61), also known as Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, to court. This is reported by La Vanguardia.

Juan Carlos also plans to legally challenge Larsen's claim that the payment of €65 million he transferred from Saudi Arabia to her account was a personal 'gift'. The Spanish former king claims that the money was merely entrusted to her for safekeeping and that she refused to return the money when requested. A difficult issue for the king, who was having an affair with the woman at the time.

This latest legal move, reportedly filed in a Swiss court according to Spanish media, marks a new chapter in the ongoing conflict between the former couple.

The romantic relationship between Juan Carlos and Larsen lasted from 2004 to 2012 according to the Spanish press, and definitively ended when Larsen sued him in the United Kingdom in 2022. In that lawsuit, she claimed 146 million euros and accused the former king of having launched harassment, surveillance and intimidation campaigns against her.

After abdicating in 2014 in favour of his son King Felipe VI, amid growing corruption scandals, Juan Carlos is now seeking to restore his image, especially with the 50th anniversary of his ascension to the throne taking place in November.

"Besides rehabilitation, he also plans to claim significant damages from Larsen", according to La Vanguardia, quoting ‘direct sources from the former king’. The Spanish article mentions that Juan Carlos has engaged a legal team in London to represent him before the Swiss judiciary.

How will the Spanish people remember Juan Carlos in the future?

(SR - Source: La Vanguardia/SpainEnglish - Illustration: ©picture alliance / Juan Carlos Rojas | Juan Carlos Rojas)