The King has appointed the diplomat Camilo Villarino as the new head of the King’s House, replacing the state lawyer Jaime Alfonsín who was appointed to that position after the proclamation of Felipe VI in 2014, after holding the position of head of the Secretariat of the King since 1995. Prince of Asturias. The replacement will take place during the month of February and will entail other changes in the dome of the King’s House. Alfonsín will continue to be linked to Zarzuela as a “private advisor” to the King, who has expressed his desire to continue counting on his “valuable and loyal advice.”
The Zarzuela Palace made public this Friday, mid-afternoon, a statement in which it reported the relief that the King has carried out in accordance with the provisions of article 65.2 of the Constitution, which authorizes him to appointments in the King’s House. At the same time that Alfonsín’s dismissal was notified, the appointment of Camilo Villarino Marzo (Zaragoza, 1964) who held the position of cabinet director of the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell, was announced. A career diplomat, he previously served as chief of staff of the ministers of Foreign Affairs Alfonso Dastis and Arancha González Laya.
Although the replacement has caused surprise, the truth is that Jaime Alfonsín had informed the King of his desire to leave the position after turning 65. At the request of the head of state, the former head of the King’s Household, who turned 67 last August, promised to continue until Princess Leonor comes of age.
Alfonsín arrived at Zarzuela in September 1995, months after Felipe de Borbón concluded his studies at Georgetown University (Washington), taking charge of the secretariat of the Prince of Asturias. State Attorney, after several years in a public position, went to work at the Uría y Menéndez law firm, where he was recruited by King Juan Carlos to become the shadow of the then Prince Felipe and contribute to filling his functions with content. as heir to the Crown.
Jaime Alfonsín had to fill Prince Felipe’s agenda, linking him to activities such as attending the inaugurations of Latin American leaders which, over the years, have meant that the current King is a great connoisseur of the changes that have occurred in area.
Outside of official activities, Jaime Alfonsín, as head of the secretariat of the Prince of Asturias, had to organize the wedding of Prince Felipe with Letizia Ortiz, as well as everything related to the then infantas Leonor and Sofía.
In the last years of the reign of Juan Carlos I, with the addition of the Nóos case, Jaime Alfonsín was determined to keep the prince out of all controversy. Inside the Zarzuela, but not the decision center, Alfonsín found himself with the decision to abdicate King Juan Carlos already made and with the mission of preparing King Felipe’s proclamation.
After June 2014, Alfonsín ceased as head of the Prince’s secretariat for obvious reasons and was immediately appointed head of the King’s Household. King Juan Carlos’s first period as abdicated was not easy, due to the numerous interferences of the previous monarch in internal matters of Zarzuela, but the worst came with the avalanche of information that linked the King’s father to economic and fiscal irregularities.
Alfonsín had to prepare the statement made public on March 15, 2020, in which the King, in addition to withdrawing from his father the allocation he received from the budgets of the King’s House, renounced a possible inheritance of assets obtained from unclear way. Five months later, King Juan Carlos left Spain heading to Abu Dhabi, causing a new crisis within the institution and the royal family, which Alfonsín endured while maintaining his correct criteria with which, over the years, the current head of state agrees. .