The publication in the magazine ¡Hola! of a series of photos taken at the party with which King Juan Carlos celebrated his 86th birthday at his home in Abu Dhabi have caused surprise in the Zarzuela, after months in which discretion has marked the last trips of the King’s father Spain The proliferation of images, which occupy the cover and ten pages of the latest issue of the magazine, breaks the pact reached by the King and his father with the goal shared by both of them not to create controversies that affect the Corona and, at the same time, normalize family relations.
The birthday party, promoted by his closest circle of friends, was held on January 5 and attended by a hundred people, mostly Spanish, some from the United Arab Emirates and close people of different nationalities. At the request of King Joan Carles, some images of the celebration were made available to the magazine. On the cover there are two photographs, in one you can see the king emeritus with his daughters, the infant Cristina, and his grandchildren Felipe and Victoria de Marichalar and Pablo and Irene Urdangarin, at the entrance of the house with a Christmas tree and a Spanish flag in the background. In the other image, it captures the moment when King Juan Carlos, with a saber, cuts the birthday cake, which is covered by a reproduction, in cake batter, of his banner, which includes the color blue and the shield that represented him when he was head of state and that he can use for official ceremonies.
The appearance of the Spanish flag at the entrance to the residence and the use of the script or banner (the sign that represents the dignity of the king) were the images that surprised the most, given that King Juan Carlos he seems to claim his institutional figure with these images. The rest of the photographs that are included in the magazine show different moments of the celebration with some of the guests, such as the members of the duo Los del Río surrounding King Juan Carlos. Álvar d’Orleans also appears, a distant cousin of the King’s father and who, through the Zagatka Foundation, financed private trips by plane worth eight million euros. This donation meant that, after these payments came to light, King Juan Carlos had to pay the Treasury more than four million euros in a tax settlement. Philip Atkins, Corinna Larsen’s first husband, also appears in the photographs, who in 2012 accompanied the couple on the controversial trip to Botswana in which Joan Carles, still the titular king, broke his hip.
Following the first trip to Spain, in May 2022 (after leaving Spain in the summer of 2020), in which there was media overexposure that caused discomfort both in Zarzuela and in the Central Government and in wide sectors social issues, King Juan Carlos committed himself to his son, the King, to try to keep a low profile, a recommendation that he has fulfilled in subsequent visits to Sanxenxo and Madrid.
While the institutional distance was still in effect (which prevented him from being in Congress at the swearing-in of the Princess of Asturias), the more cautious attitude of the King’s father facilitated a family approach, as could be seen at the family celebration in El Pardo for Eleonor’s coming of age and at the 60th birthday dinner of the infanta Elena. Friendly dates that foretold future encounters that now seem unlikely.
