The life of the Spanish king Juan Carlos I (85) has been filmed. The documentary “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” celebrates its world premiere on April 17th in the competition of the Canneseries Festival. In May she will present the DOK.fest Munich. From May 21, the pay-TV broadcaster Sky and the streaming service Wow will broadcast the series.
According to a media release, four episodes of 45 minutes each document the “rise and fall” of the former Spanish king. The focus is on the question of how the once “revered monarch [could] fall so dramatically from grace that he abdicated in 2014 and finally had to flee into exile in 2020”. The series takes a look at the king’s “financial affairs, his lucrative connections to the Spanish establishment and his alleged involvement in global corruption cases”.
In addition, “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” addresses the old king’s secret love affair with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgestein (58). She speaks personally in an exclusive interview. “Close Friends, Confidants, and Supporters of Juan Carlos I.” as well as “former intelligence officials, palace insiders and investigative journalists” also share their knowledge.
In addition to numerous scandals, “Juan Carlos – Love, Money, Betrayal” also highlights the monarch’s greatest successes. These include the liberation of Spain from the Franco dictatorship or his contribution to the modernization of the country.
“When we started to produce the investigative series about the Spanish King Juan Carlos I., we were not aware of the extent of the political dimensions,” says producer Christian Beetz (54). Bit by bit, a “network of intrigues, greed and power games” unfolded, which “is protected by the Spanish secret service CNI to this day.” It is “a remarkable story that we try to tell without fear or favours.”
“Juan Carlos – Liebe, Geld, Verrat” is “certainly one of the most explosive projects of the year,” says Christian Asanger, Vice President of Sky Entertainment Germany. It contains “everything that makes a Sky Original”: a protagonist who grants an exclusive insight into a previously closed world, investigative research and high-end shooting. In addition, the Gebrueder Beetz film production company is a “production partner that is one of the most renowned in the international documentary film industry”.
