Spain’s controversial former king Juan Carlos left Vitoria, the capital of Spain’s Basque country, on board a private jet on Tuesday. There was initially no information on the flight destination, but it was assumed that he would return to his exile in Abu Dhabi after his six-day home visit, reported the state TV broadcaster RTVE. The online flight tracker Flightaware showed that the machine first flew north-east over southern France and then east over northern Italy.
The 85-year-old arrived in Vitoria on Sunday evening and went to a dental clinic. Earlier this weekend he was unable to take part in a regatta off the coast of Sanxenxo in the north-western region of Galicia on board his boat “Bribón” due to bad weather.
No explanation given
The father of King Felipe VI, who was Spain’s head of state for almost four decades until his abdication in June 2014, arrived in Galicia on Wednesday for the first home visit since May last year. In Sanxenxo he stayed with a close friend. Unlike last year, this time he didn’t make a single statement. As far as is known, no meeting with Felipe (55), his wife Sofía (84) or other royals was planned.
In the spring of 2022, all criminal investigations into financial irregularities against Juan Carlos were dropped in Spain. It was therefore assumed that he would visit his homeland more often and eventually return for good.
But a lot went wrong on the first home visit. It was not only the media hype that caused unease among the royal family and the government at the time. Juan Carlos’ behavior was criticized as “immodest”. The government said at the time that he had “missed the chance” to ask the citizens for forgiveness and to explain himself.
