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Without censorship and with knowledge of the facts, Jaime Peñafiel, the journalist who knows the most about the monarchy in Spain, assures that Felipe VI made a mistake when asking his father to leave the country.
“The departure of the emeritus king has been a mistake by the government and his son, which not only does not benefit but also greatly harms the institution,” he told EL TIEMPO in Spain.
“Felipe has not practiced the presumption of innocence of his father, something that is mandatory,” says Peñafiel, who has been close to the royal family since the monarchy was established, has accompanied her on numerous trips and has analyzed all of them in different scenarios. the steps of the Bourbons.
(See also: The leap into the void of the emeritus king, Juan Carlos I of Spain).
And he emphasizes that “the donations of the Arabs to Don Juan Carlos are not a crime; the crime consists of not declaring them to the treasury ”. So far, he says, “the king emeritus is not accused of any illicit action, far from it.”
It also clarifies that at present the relationship between Felipe VI and his father, Juan Carlos I, “does not exist.”
“There have been many mistakes,” insists Peñafiel. Felipe VI “decided to withdraw him until the assignment and remove him from everything when there was still nothing against him.”
He also believes that the current king was wrong to renounce the inheritance of the money that Juan Carlos I could keep outside of Spain.
“There is an article of the Civil Code (art. 91) which stipulates that no one can accept or renounce an inheritance until the person who owns that money dies,” he explains. “Therefore, Felipe also rushed there,” she adds. “And he has done it in the ugliest way, which has damaged the image of the monarchy.”
It also highlights that the donation of the king emeritus to his close friend Corinna Larsen was not a criminal act either. “She had every right to do it. It was her money and she gave a gift to her dear friend. Or he could have kept it if he had preferred ”.
It refers to the donation of 65 million euros that Juan Carlos I made to the German businesswoman, with whom he had a loving relationship.
Justice is investigating this money and its origin, presumably the commissions that the king received for having interceded in the concession of the construction of a railway in Saudi Arabia to a consortium of Spanish companies.
Larsen must testify as a witness in the trial that begins on September 18 against former commissioner José Manuel Villarejo for slander and false accusation to the former head of the National Intelligence Center. In fact, in a conversation that she had with the person involved, and that was surreptitiously recorded by him, she mentioned the donation to King Juan Carlos; in this way it was made public.
Peñafiel believes that the closeness of the trial is what has led Larsen to give interviews like the one he gave to the BBC, in which he revealed details of his love affair with Juan Carlos I.
8 See also: Cornered by scandals, King Juan Carlos leaves Spain).
Peñafiel is convinced that Queen Letizia played an important role.
“Her influence has been decisive because she could never see King Juan Carlos, nor the King her,” he says. “Letizia’s influence on Felipe is very great. She is a woman of character, who commands a lot and helped Felipe to confront his father, ”she says.
On the other hand, the importance of the reign of Juan Carlos I (1975-2014) stands out.
“He is the man who has kept the level of the country very high and very positive, who brought democracy from the Franco dictatorship and who has made business easier for many businessmen,” he says. “He has been one of the best kings of Spain in recent centuries and what is happening to him is unfair.”
Will history remember him for those contributions to the country during his reign? “Spain is a very ungrateful and very forgetful country,” he says. “It is an issue not so much about skirts – which is an intimate issue – but about money, which has spoiled its history.”
While the scandal does not stop, Queen Sofía maintains a discreet role and spends the summer holidays in the Marivent palace, in Mallorca, as is tradition in the Bourbon family.
“She has been the long-suffering wife throughout the reign of Juan Carlos,” explains Peñafiel. “Try to live this enormous tragedy with dignity,” he adds, and assures that for “many decades King Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía shared a roof, but not a bed.”
When asked about the future of the monarchy in Spain, he tells the story of King Farouk of Egypt, who, when he was overthrown by Generals Naguib and Nasser, said some very wise words: “I am not worried about what has happened, because in a few years there will only be five kings left in the world: the four from the deck and the queen of England ”. “Time to time,” says Peñafiel.
He is convinced, yes, that the Infanta Leonor will never be queen.
“Felipe is still young and can be king for twenty more years,” he says. “Twenty years from now we will remember Faruk’s words,” he concludes.
Juanita Samper Ospina
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Madrid
