Juan Carlos I de Bourbon is the king of Spain, who has become a whole era. His reign lasted about forty years, during which the country turned from an extreme dictatorial fiefdom into a modern democratic state. Not everything went smoothly and steadily, all the difficulties that filled the political and social sphere of the Spanish kingdom were thrown onto the shoulders of the young democrat king.
History of the dynasty
Juan Carlos I is a representative of the ruling Bourbon dynasty. This family has its roots in France, and its first representative in Spain was King Philip V, whose accession took place back in 1700. The Habsburg dynasty, which was the most powerful at that time on the European continent, feared that the primacy would pass into the hands of the Bourbons, who from that moment controlled two large kingdoms: France and Spain. After that, the War of the Spanish Succession began, during which the King of Spain was forbidden to claim the French crown, he was declared the legitimate ruler exclusively of Spain.
After 100 years, the dynasty was overthrown by Napoleon, but in 1814 their power was returned. In 1871-1873the throne was led by the Savoy dynasty, but from 1874 to 1931 the Bourbons were again "at the helm". After the elections, power passed to the left Republicans, and as a result of several days of incessant demonstrations, Alphonse XIII left the country and went into exile in Italy. The Bourbon dynasty was destined to revive in 1975, when the empty throne of Spain was taken by the new king Juan Carlos 1.
Childhood and adolescence
The future monarch was born into the family of the direct heir to the Spanish throne, Don Juan Carlos, Count of Barcelona on January 5, 1938, when his family was in exile. Interestingly, he was baptized by E. Pacelli, who a year later became pope with the name Pius XII.
In 1947, a referendum took place in Spain, during which 95% of those who voted cast their votes for the resumption of the monarchy, but General Franco remained regent for life. A bill was drawn up, in which, as expected, the name of the future king was not indicated. The thing is that the direct heir of Alfonso XIII was his son Juan de Bourbon, who was an ardent opponent of the dictator Franco and even participated in an unsuccessful conspiracy against him. Therefore, his 9-year-old son Juan Carlos (the first male child in the family) was chosen for this role.
Getting an education
The next year, the future heir to the throne was invited to Spain, where he began to study at the military academy of Zaragoza. Until 1958, he studied maritime affairs in the city of Marina,after which he continued to serve in the Spanish Air Force. He completed his education at the prestigious Complutense University, which he graduated only in 1961. The core subjects were political science, economics and international law. After that, he began direct political activity and began to take part in official state events.
Starting a family
At the age of 24, Juan Carlos I decided to tie himself to family ties. His chosen one was Princess Sophia of Greece in exile, who was the eldest daughter of King Paul I. The marriage of the crowned persons took place on May 14, 1962 in the capital of Greece - Athens. This was followed by a honeymoon, after which the couple settled in the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, which remains their residence to this day. A year later, their daughter Elena was born, two years later, their daughter Christina, and in 1968 Sofia gave birth to their son Filipe, the future heir to the throne. Former King of Spain Juan Carlos and Sofia currently have 5 grandchildren.
Heir to the Spanish throne
General Franco declared Juan his heir only in 1969, which caused great indignation of his father, the Count of Barcelona. The dictator could not leave the crown to "just anyone", so he approached this choice carefully and saw in Juan the successor of his work, especially since the chosen one himself showed by his actions that he was ready to follow the Francoist path. He played the role of "obedient boy" and student well, he even took the oath to the "National Movement" andrepeatedly spoke in support of the Franco regime.
In the summer of 1974, Franco appointed Juan as acting leader of the country. In November of the following year, after the death of General Franco, Parliament announced the restoration of royal power, while the monarch Juan Carlos I de Borbón was declared. The photo of the coronation of the new king after more than thirty years of the empty Spanish throne for most of the people is a memory of the long-awaited events that followed the era of the dictator Franco.
First Democratic Changes
As it turned out, the new monarch did not want to follow the course of Franco and immediately began a radical reform of the entire state apparatus. He appointed the experienced politician Adolfo Suarez to the post of prime minister. Its main task was a smooth and, most importantly, legal transition to democracy. By the autumn of 1976, the "Act on Political Reform" had been developed, it was he who was destined to become a legislative document transforming the old state power.
In 1977, all bans on the activities of opposition political parties were lifted. In the summer of the same year, the first alternative parliamentary elections were held, and autumn was marked by a change in the territorial structure of the country from unitary to federal: the autonomies of Basquiat and Catalonia were created. The year 1978 was marked by the adoption of a new democratic constitution, and in the spring of 1979 special parliamentary elections were held in accordance with the constitution.
Democratic transformation,which were carried out by Juan Carlos I, pushed his father to come to terms with his activities and recognize his son as the legitimate head of state. And in 1978, the Count of Barcelona died. Most of the European ruling dynasties, which had not previously recognized Juan Carlos as king, recognized his legitimate authority on the Spanish throne, but there were still forces inside the country that wanted a return to the path of the dictator Franco, they were the nationalists and the military.
God Save the King
In the 6th year of the country's rule, in 1981, an attempted bloodless coup took place in the country. Radical officers broke into parliament, seized members of the government and deputies with a demand to appoint "their" general to the post of prime minister. However, the king did not remain silent, as was expected of him, he responded with sharp opposition. The rebels were not ready for this and were forced to surrender to the authorities by morning.
The authority of Huang at the same time greatly increased even among the left Republicans and other oppositionists. It was after those events in 1981 that the communist leader S. Carrillo, who had previously spoken of the king only with a mocking smile on his face, exclaimed in a fit of feelings in front of television cameras: “God save the king!”.
Juan Carlos 1 considered that the mission to democratize Spain was completed. After that, he decided to move away from active political interference in the affairs of the state, especially since in the next parliamentary elections in 1982, the majority of votes were cast in support of the Social Democrats. Since then, he has performed the nominal function of headstate, was responsible for the moral honor and authority of the patron of the state and people, and also held the position of Supreme Commander.
Scandals of recent years
In 2012, a series of scandals associated with the royal family began. At this time, Spain experienced a protracted economic crisis. However, this did not stop the fun. Juan Carlos I went to Botswana to hunt elephants. According to statistics companies, about 44 thousand euros were spent on this. This information caused a sharp irritation of the population, some activists took to the streets of Madrid to criticize the extreme waste in a difficult economic period.
In the same year, investigations into the theft of state property and corrupt activities began. Accused of this neither more nor less, but the Infanta Christina herself and her husband I. Urdangarina. Official charges were brought against them only in 2014. After this scandal, the king was forced to publish a declaration of cash receipts. According to her, in 2011 the monarch's annual income was about 293 thousand euros, 40% of which were paid to the state budget in the form of tax.
Abdication
The last years of his reign, the already middle-aged Juan Carlos 1 (under which the Bourbon dynasty was revived and acquired a democratic connotation) complained about his he alth. The result was his voluntary resignation. June 18, 2014 was the last day when the kingThe Spanish monarchy was J. Carlos. At the same time, the authorities wanted to give him the title of Count of Barcelona, but the representative of the Bourbons decided that after resigning he did not want to have any titles and would simply be Juan Carlos, without the prefix "Majesty" or "Highness". The next day, June 19, 2014, the new king, the son of Juan Carlos, Felipe, came into his legal rights in Spain.
As eyewitnesses and cameras testify, during the abdication, the king's face shone with happiness. Juan Carlos I was well aware that he had done a lot for his native country: he reformed the system of government from military dictatorship to democracy, economically turned Spain from an agrarian into a high-tech developed European civilization. He walked the path of goodness and democracy, but was not afraid to be tough when it became necessary in 1981. He managed to reconcile ardent enemies - communists and Francoists. And after 39 years of service for the good of the motherland, he went on a well-deserved rest without debts to the fatherland.
