CNN
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Next, let's take a look at the life of the former king of Spain.
birthday: January 5, 1938
place of birth: Rome, Italy
Birth Name: Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbon y Borbon
father: Don Juan de Borbon y Battenburg, Count of Barcelona, third son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
mother: Dona Maria de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orléans, Princess of the Two Sicilies and Countess of Barcelona
marriage: Princess Sofia of Greece (May 14, 1962 – present)
Children: Infanta Elena of Spain, Elena Maria, Isabel, Dominica de Silos de Borbón y Grecia, Duchess of Lugo, December 1963; Infanta Cristina of Asturias, Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santissima Trinidad de Borbón y Grecia, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, June 1965; Prince of Asturias, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso and the Holy Trinity, Bourbon and All Saints of Greece, January 1968
education: Marianist (Friborg, Switzerland); Instituto San Isidro, Madrid, Spain; Spanish Naval College of Goa; Zaragoza Military Academy, Zaragoza, Spain; Naval College of Marin, Spain; Spanish Aviation Academy, San Javier, Spain; University of Madrid, Spain
army: Spanish Army, Spanish Navy, Spanish Air Force
The Spanish royal family pays income tax in accordance with constitutional provisions and resides of their choice in the Zarzuela Palace, a converted hunting lodge.
Madrid's royal palace, the Palacio Real, is used for official events such as visits by heads of state.
He first visited the United States in 1958 while training as a naval midshipman aboard Juan Sebastian Elcano.
Great-grandson of Queen Victoria and distant cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are both descendants of Queen Victoria.
A distant relative of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain in the 15th century.
1947 – President Francisco Franco's succession law declares that the Spanish royal family will be restored to power upon his death.
1948 – Franco and Don Juan de Bourbon travel to Spain for the first time after agreeing to educate their heir in Spanish.
1960 – After completing his military training, he becomes the first Spanish officer to hold the rank of lieutenant in all three branches of the military.
August 1962 – During his honeymoon, he visited the United States and met U.S. President John F. Kennedy.
1969 – Crowned as Crown Prince and designated as Franco's successor.
November 22, 1975 – Two days after Franco's death, King Juan Carlos I of Spain ascended the throne, restoring the Spanish monarchy after a 44-year absence.
June 1-4, 1976 – The first Spanish king to visit the United States. He meets US President Gerald Ford.
1977 – Enacts political reforms leading to the first democratic elections since 1936.
1978 – The adoption of the new constitution gives the monarchy a more than nominal or ceremonial role within the government.
February 1981 – The coup attempt is thwarted when forces loyal to the king refuse to join the rebellion.
2000 – It commemorates the 25th anniversary of his accession to the throne.
March 11, 2004 – Addressing the nation and visiting the injured after 10 bombs exploded on four commuter trains during rush hour in Madrid.
November 10, 2007 – He told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, “Why don’t you shut up?” (¿Por qué no te callas?), during the Ibero-American summit held in Santiago, Chile.
May 8, 2010 – A tumor was removed from my right lung and found to be benign.
August 8, 2010 – Together with Queen Sofia, she hosts US First Lady Michelle Obama and her youngest daughter Sasha at her summer palace on the island of Mallorca.
April 14, 2012 – I fell while traveling in Botswana and had hip replacement surgery. He was readmitted later this month “to reduce dislocation” of his hip. He had another hip surgery in November 2012.
July 2012 – He was dismissed as honorary president of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Spain after going on an elephant hunting trip in Botswana last April. “While not illegal, the hunt was widely seen as incompatible with the King’s position as head of WWF Spain,” the group said in a statement. He has held this honorary position since 1968.
March 3, 2013 – I was hospitalized for lumbar disc surgery. While he was recovering, a small fire broke out in the hospital, but he was unaffected.
September 2013 – I had my third hip surgery in Madrid to replace the infected joint.
June 2, 2014 – He declares that he will hand over the throne to his son, Prince Felipe.
June 18, 2014 – I officially give up.
January 14, 2015 – A dozen judges have ruled that Juan Carlos must face a paternity suit in the Supreme Court by a Belgian woman who claims he is her father. Ingrid Sartiau from Brussels claims that her own mother and Juan Carlos had an affair in late 1965, resulting in her being born in August 1966. At the time, Juan Carlos was married but still a prince.
March 11, 2015 – Spain's Supreme Court dismissed the paternity suit against Juan Carlos.
November 29, 2016 – Attended the memorial service for former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
June 2, 2019 – I am officially resigning from public office.
June 8, 2020 – Spain's Supreme Court announced an investigation into Juan Carlos on criminal charges related to an alleged 2008 transfer of $100 million from the Saudi king for a high-speed rail project in Saudi Arabia. Switzerland is also investigating the contract.
August 3, 2020 – He leaves Spain after being investigated for financial dealings. In a letter to his son, King Felipe VI, Juan Carlos wrote that he had decided to leave “after seeing that certain events in my private life in the past were causing a public resonance.”
December 2021 – Swiss prosecutors have dropped charges against Juan Carlos in connection with the Saudi railway project.
March 2022 – Spanish prosecutors closed their investigation and did not file charges against Juan Carlos.
May 19, 2022 – Juan Carlos, who has lived in the United Arab Emirates since going into self-imposed exile, is traveling to Spain for the first time since fleeing almost two years ago.
October 6, 2023 – The High Court in London has dismissed a lawsuit brought by former lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein accusing Juan Carlos of orchestrating a campaign of harassment and surveillance against her. Juan Carlos denied the charges.