King Juan Carlos & Queen Sofia of Spain

More on the Governor and the King:

"Enter Scott — who was visiting Spain this week on a trade mission. Not only did the governor start with the I've-never-shot-an-elephant ice-breaker, Scott then continued to talk about elephants and Botswana after he introduced his wife, Ann, to the king.

"We were in Botswana," Scott says. "And we were in the Jeep. And an elephant started to chase the Jeep. My wife was in the back part of the Jeep and she wanted to get out to the front of the Jeep." "I needed you in the Jeep with me," Ann leans in to say to the king. Juan Carlos laughed nervously at the elephant in the room and . . . Cut! The video stops.

But the laughter began. Newspapers nationwide and late-night Spanish television made Scott's elephant story a topic of uproarious laughter.

"All the news outlets highlight the absolute lack of tact of the Florida governor, which can only be attributed to poor preparation for the meeting," TV personality Sandra Sabatés says on the satirical news show El Intermedio (Halftime). "Gov. Scott continues, obstinate in his error. He adds insult to injury and asks the king increasingly uncomfortable questions about the details of the hunt."

At one point, Scott suggests that the king needs a better story to tell than that he injured his hip getting out of bed while on the trip...Returning to Florida on Thursday afternoon, Scott was met by a gaggle of media at Miami International Airport.

"If I did anything . . . wrong I completely apologize," he said. "The king's a wonderful person. He's a wonderful world leader. He's done so many wonderful things in his life. And we had a great conversation. "The first thing I asked him about was his hip, of course, because he had been injured," Scott said. Scott said he talked more about jobs than elephants with the king — not that anyone much wrote about that.

This wasn't the first time that the Spanish king has had an awkward moment with a Florida governor. Scott's predecessor, Charlie Crist, feted Juan Carlos at a royal dinner as part of a food-and-wine fest at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. But Crist isn't a big eater. And he's not known for long talks about foreign policy. So Crist and his wife, Carole, left before dinner was over and left Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía sitting next to empty seats — a protocol no-no. Maybe protocol is just not a Florida forte.

When King Juan Carlos arrived at Miami International Airport several years ago, neither the mayors of Miami-Dade County or the city of Miami were available to greet him, as is customary. About an hour before Juan Carlos' arrival, county officials hastily called then-County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, who rushed to get dressed up and make it to the tarmac in time for him and then-City Commissioner Tomás Regalado to shake the king's hand. "When he got off the plane, he referred to me as mayor," Gimenez said, recalling the story. "I had to kind of say, I'm not the alcalde, I'm a commissioner.""

They really look finished, in more ways than one. She looks a nervous wreck, and the King does not look like something the Spanish should be proud of. I feel sorry for her ! She has never done anything wrong to deserve this. I am not surprised she spends so much time away from home ! So would I. 

I am not sure of the constitutional position of the monarchy in Spain. Would it relatively easy to abolish it  ?

The King is Head of State and of Armed Forces, much like the UK model.  However, as with everything else it could be quite easily abolished if there was parliamentary will to call a referendum.

So, it would take a referendum instead of a simple act of Parliament ?

As the institution is enshrined in the Constitution it would seem that a referendum would be necessary and I honestly could not say that I am convinced the result would be in the Monarchys favour...  I think it is sad but may be a good idea for HM to hand over the reins to the Prince of Asturias to attempt to win back some favour with the public.

As the institution is enshrined in the Constitution it would seem that a referendum would be necessary and I honestly could not say that I am convinced the result would be in the Monarchys favour...  I think it is sad but may be a good idea for HM to hand over the reins to the Prince of Asturias to attempt to win back some favour with the public.

Agreed.

Madrid yesterday,la Roja at Palacio Zarzuela :

http://www.ppe-agency.com/show.php?zoektype=2&search=02-07-2012%20Madrid

courtesy ppe

Queen Sofia wasn't in attendance,she is on a visit to the Philippines at present.

Spain's Wildlife President King Carlos was recently seen posing proudly beside the bodies of elephants he get's kicks out of pre-stage slaughtering in Botswanna (triple fracturing his hip in the bargain)--a trip arranged, it is alleged, by one of the 74 year old monarch's long line of mistresses that he's aquired in the last 35 years.

Unwise PR.

Weird, King Carlos' slaughter house preoccupation given that he was directly/indirectly involved in the 1956 accidental shooting death of his twin brother Alfonso, and in 2004 was in the Spanish people's very bad books for gunning down 9 bears (one of which was pregnant) in Romania. After the King's latest PR Safari fiasco he lost no time announcing to the world that he would not be celebrating his 50th Golden Anniversary with his royal consort either in public or private which would confirm their estrangement. A planned stamp with the Golden bridal motif has also been dropped. According to respected royal commentator & former director of the respected daily ABC Jose Antonio Zarzalejos: "The failure of the King's marriage to the Queen, from whom he is practically separated, is public knowledge."

Quote, royal watcher Jaime Penafiel on Spain's Royal Golden Anniversary: "The King should instead mark the day with a minute of silence."

Aging monarch Carlos may no longer be besotted with his consort wife (if he ever he was) but that's not the point. The Queen has dutifully served Spain for 5 decades (producing an heir) in the service of the King's cause, his mistresses in tow, under very difficult circumstances and she deserves a modicum of respect--publicly & privately--from her irrant husband. If nothing else, the gracious & discreet Queen Sofia has put a brave face on a bad bargain for 40 years managing to look the radiant royal consort while King Carlos stood by her side DISGRUNTLED & SULKING.

Meanwhile, the Spainish press has had a field day in 2012; WWF has sacked the King, town councils in Spain are declaring him "persona non grata", his son-in-law has been accused of embezzling public funds, and a fair number of his subjects are asking that the once inviolate monarch abdicate. Unthinkable a year ago. In fact, it was only last Dec. that King Carlos was honored with the longest sustained ovation ever received in the congress building. Currently, the King's popularity is at it's lowest ebb since he came to the throne.

Running the gamut, King Juan Carlos even fell flat on his face inspected his military brass in Madrid!

Ostensibly, King Juan Carlos has spent his life devoted to one goal: PRESERVING THE SPAINISH MONARCHY. If this is the King's idea of how to get that job done then he's got a screw loose.

The above, currently, is the scenerio being playing out for the King of Spain.  If the reality is different there has been scant effort put forward by the Spainsh court, so far, to deny public perceptions.

Correction. Infante Alfonso, killed in a shooting accident, was King Juan Carlos' younger brother.

"Most historians agree nowadays that the pistol was fired by Juan Carlos by accident. After the funeral the father Don Juan de Borbon, sent Juan Carlos back to Spain immediately after the funeral, and because of pain & anger, did not talk to him for awhile."

Meanwhile, for the sake of the monarchy, would it be beyond the call of duty for King Juan Carlos to occasionally put forward a supreme effort to look benignly in the direction of his royal consort Queen Sofia in public?

No.

Still. Will forever admire King Juan Carlos for publicly calling out Hugo Chavez "WHY DON'T YOU SHUT UP!"

Agreed. One of Juan Carlos's best lines in history.

HM Queen Sophia and la Duquesa de Alba attended a the opening of an exhbition on the House of Alba,Madrid.

http://www.ppe-agency.com/show.php?zoektype=2&search=18-12-2012%20Madrid

courtesy ppe

The new biography on Queen Sophia, The Solitude Of The Queen, is fanning the flames. It’s claimed Juan Carlos, 74, is a serial philanderer who has  used his power to sleep with 1,500 women.

"Now it seems the gloves are off and the Spanish press is awash with reports of Juan Carlos’ alleged ­infidelities. The monarch received treatment for a lung tumour last year but it seems age and ill-health have not affected his voracious sexual appetite. Pilar Eyre, a respected author and journalist, claims in the new book that Juan Carlos’ most recent conquest is a young German translator. She also names several of the king’s other alleged mistresses.

Royalists in Spain fear the fallout could permanently damage the ­monarchy. Spain’s republican streak means affection for Juan Carlos does not always extend to the monarchy as an institution, raising doubts about its ability to outlive the septu­genarian king. For the king and queen to divorce is almost unthinkable in staunchly Catholic Spain. Like Andrew Morton’s book Diana: Her True Story the account emerging from Spain contains a remarkable level of detail about the strife in Spain’s royal family. Eyre states: “Queen Sofia is a woman betrayed and hurt by the man she once loved blindly. Her married life has been a real ­tragedy. Juan Carlos is a professional seducer and age has not slowed him down.”

The king is said to regularly receive vitamin injections and anti-ageing treatments to boost his libido.

Juan Carlos came to the throne in 1975 two days after General Franco’s death and is credited with transforming Spain from a fascist dictatorship into a modern democracy.
In 1962 he had married Princess Sofia of Greece and Denmark. Eyre claims the marriage effectively ended in 1976 when Sofia, daughter of the last king of Greece, took their children for a surprise visit to her husband at a friend’s country house near Toledo. She arrived to find the king’s favourite pet dog roaming free and the home-owner frantically barring her route. Sofia burst in and caught her husband with his lover, a well-known Spanish actress.

A few days later a distraught Sofia took the children and stormed out of the Zarzuela Palace near Madrid, the royal couple’s principal residence, and spent 10 days in India with her mother, the exiled Queen Frederika of Greece. Sofia intended to separate but ­Frederika advised her to stand by her man, warning: “Do you want to end up living in the south of France like so many other former kings and queens, being paid to liven up the parties of the newly rich?”

Sofia returned to Madrid but from then on reserved her affection for her dogs and her children, notably Crown Prince Felipe. The book claims Sofia, 73, suffered in dignified silence as Juan Carlos, who has a fleet of 70 vehicles including Franco’s old Rolls-Royce, continued to enjoy a playboy lifestyle. One fling is said to have been with an interior decorator from Mallorca, where members of the royal family spend their summer holidays. The king is said to have had a particular penchant for blondes. It’s said Sofia’s chauffeur, named only as Gaudencio, had to ­pretend not to notice when she was ­crying in the back of the car. The queen could not count on her Spanish female friends because she could never be sure they had not slept with her husband.

Despite being married to an allegedly insatiable Lothario the queen is said to have remained faithful. But it’s reported she has had the living quarters in their official residence rearranged so she is not even on the same level as her errant husband. Eyre adds: “In this country it is a feather in your cap to be successful with women. In spite of his disloyal behaviour towards his wife he is still more popular than her. Their backgrounds made them an ideal couple but in reality they were chalk and cheese....From the moment she first ­discovered her husband’s infidelity Sofia put on a mask. Now they barely speak. Her only real goal is preparing her son to become king. She has no friends, no one to confide in and fears she is being spied on. “The king is surrounded by a clique. Everyone loves him.” Last year Sofia raised eyebrows when she did not attend her husband’s hospital bedside...Sofia will continue to do her duty but Eyre, who has exposed the 50-year-old marriage as a sham, says: “She is the loneliest woman in Spain.”"

This is all just so sad. Queen Sophia always struck me as a kind and gentle woman--what misery to put up with for decades. They made such a good-looking couple (not that that indicates anything) back in the day. She was never a great beauty but I always thought she had a pretty, girl-next-door appeal and a lovely demeanor.

Given the 2 on-going scandals--this tawdry, if personal, business and the political/criminal scandal involving Juan Carlos's son-in-law Inaki--is there any speculation that Juan Carlos might follow the recent example (albeit under VERY different circumstances) of Queen Beatrix and abdicate? Perhaps a fresh start with the well-liked Felipe & Letitzia might staunch some of the bad publicity?

 Erm... I read two books she wrote : The one of Empress Eugenie of France and Ena and if this """"biography"""" its like them....yuck! No worthto  read

Trashy material from the likes of National Enquirer.