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?
