King Juan Carlos I is a private person since he decided to withdraw from public life in 2019. That is the mantra that is repeated in Zarzuela, and that is the umbrella under which they take refuge to explain that the meeting between Don Juan Carlos and Felipe VI does not appear on the institutional agenda for next week.
Thus, this Monday the agenda of the entire Royal Family appears without commitments, so it is understood that Queen Letizia will also be in Zarzuela with Don Juan Carlos. It will be on Tuesday when the King resumes his public agenda in Vigo, while Doña Letizia will not appear until Friday.
“As we said in Wednesday’s statement [confirming the arrival of Don Juan Carlos in Spain and the meeting with Doña Sofía, Don Felipe and other members of the family next Monday], it is a family meeting in the private sphere”, explain sources from Zarzuela. “And this type of family gatherings do not have the character of an official act,” they continue. So the first image of Don Juan Carlos with the head of state is going to be private. Perhaps there is not even a photograph to spread, because in Zarzuela they still do not know how to act in the face of the arrival of Felipe VI’s father.
King Juan Carlos arrived in Spain last Thursday, May 19, after almost two years without setting foot on national territory. The former Monarch landed in Sanxenxo, where he spends the weekend at the home of his friend Pedro Campos. Her daughter, Infanta Elena, moved to the Galician town, which she shared with her father on the first night in Spain and accompanied her on her reappearance at the yacht club. However, she left before the regatta started to fulfill some commitments in Seville.
Don Juan Carlos plans to return to Madrid on the morning of Monday, May 23, as confirmed by Zarzuela in a statement. That day he will go by plane to the capital and a car will take him to the palace. He is expected to spend about six hours in what was his home for 50 years. However, he has not disclosed any information about what will happen inside, who will attend the appointment or if they will tell something about it later. It is only known that the King will see Doña Sofía, Don Felipe and other members of the family, as reported in the statement. And then he’ll head back to Abu Dhabi.
The short trip to Madrid has caused some friends to travel to Sanxenxo to receive King Juan Carlos on his return to Spain. Thus, within the yacht club were Pedro de Borbón Dos Sicilias, son of the Infante Don Carlos, and Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, who has promoted a foundation to value the legacy of Don Juan Carlos.
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