King Juan Carlos, the former monarch of Spain, is not holding back in his brand new memoir, Reconciliation.
Juan Carlos, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the UAE for the last five years after abdicating the throne in 2014, is set to open up about his personal relationships and reign in the book set to be published in France on November 5.
In an excerpt shared by Spanish publication El Confidencial on Wednesday, October 29, the former king has some harsh remarks for his daughter-in-law, the current Queen Letizia.
Translated into English, Juan Carlos admits there is "personal disagreement" between him and the wife of his son and successor, King Felipe.
"She did not help to strengthen our family ties," he adds of Queen Letizia.
The statement marks the first time the 87-year-old has confirmed long-standing speculations of a rift within the Spanish royal family.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia tied the knot on May 22, 2004. They share two daughters, Princess Leonor, 19, and Princess Sofia, 18.
At the time, the choice for the future queen was quite controversial, as Letizia had been married before and grew up working class.
Juan Carlos acceded to the Spanish throne in 1975 as the chosen successor of dictator Francisco Franco. While he was expected to continue Franco's regime, he almost immediately began working to install democracy in the country.
While initially very popular among his people, by 2013, multiple scandals, including romantic affairs, financial misappropriation and an infamous elephant hunting trip to Africa, led the King to abdicate and pass the throne to his youngest child and only son, King Felipe.
Following which, in 2018, Juan Carlos' alleged spurned mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, went to the police to accuse him of corrupt business deals with Saudi Arabia.
While the case was later dropped, the former king lost his public stipend from the State's General Budget as punishment from the crown.
To not let public and media attention overshadow his son's reign, in 2020, Juan Carlos decided to move to the UAE, while his wife, Queen SofĂa, remained in Spain and often attends royal events with King Felipe and his family.
