The faces said it all. Before today’s King Felipe swore his office before the Cortes and placed himself at the service of the citizens, there was a previous act. King Juan Carlos transferred the sash of Captain General to his son and he did so with very few witnesses and behind closed doors. Felipe entered as a prince and left as a king. At least, for his own. “Everyone, starting with his sister, Infanta Elena, bowed to him. It was the moment when it was seen that the transition had been made.”
The speaker is Pilar Eyre. The journalist, one of those who knows the most about the Spanish Royal Family and everything that happened from the abdication of the emeritus king to the proclamation of King Felipe, speaks out. When ten years have passed since the accession to the throne of the son of the emeritus king, everything takes on a different meaning. Many things happened during that day marked for history. We were able to see many of them live, broadcast on television. Many others have remained silent until now.
“Coronations in Spain are not like those in England. It is an act of swearing in before Congress and the truth is that it was a day that, analyzed now, It was full of details.”explains Eyre on his successful YouTube channel. And, of course, she is right.
King Philip’s proclamation: two very important absences
The Borbón family and the Ortiz Rocasolano family met in the Cortes for the swearing-in of the then Prince Felipe. All in full? Not quite. Letizia’s family was on the guest balcony, yes, and part of Felipe’s. ““Infanta Cristina was in Washington”explains Eyre. “Rumors were beginning that there were irregularities with Iñaki Urdangarin and it was not considered appropriate to invite her.” He was not the only face missing at the most important moment in the institutional life of King Felipe VI.
“Amazingly, Don Juan Carlos was not there. That was the great mystery that all the newspapers picked up on.. “Why wasn’t the king emeritus at this ceremony?” points out the journalist. “This was very revealing of everything that was going to be discovered later and that his son knew perfectly well. “She removed him from the photograph.” The future kings, aware of the last years of the emeritus’ reign and everything that was about to happen, did not want to tarnish the legacy.
The absence of King Juan Carlos was the most controversial point of the day. The now emeritus king was absent from the proclamation of his own son. Something that many interpreted as his resistance to giving up the throne. Not in vain, there had been much speculation about how the abdication of King Juan Carlos had come about and who had managed to convince him that it was the best decision.
Two kisses that marked the proclamation of Felipe and Letizia
“It was the moment that not only they were going to remember, but the history books.” The excitement of the future kings was palpable at all times. “Felipe and Letizia had several gestures that we have not seen again since. They are not about holding hands or kissing,” explains Pilar Eyre. “She put her hand on his waist and whispered something to him. At least it seemed like she said something to him like ‘how exciting.’” The moment for which they had prepared so much had arrived. And the road had not been easy.
“Felipe made a short speech in Congress where he thanked his father, also his mother, and put himself at the service of the people,” explains the journalist. “The day they got married they didn’t get to kiss. “They went out to the Plaza de Oriente and the entire audience shouted a kiss and they had no choice but to kiss each other on the cheek.” It wasn’t the only kiss that occurred. The emeritus kings also showed a show of affection when no one expected it.
“There the only public kiss from Juan Carlos to Sofía took place. It is obvious that Juan Carlos is resisting. Sofía grabbed him by the collar, planted a kiss on his cheek and he seemed very uncomfortable. You can see that he didn’t like it at all,” says Eyre. And the relationship between the emeritus had long since ended. Shortly after we would learn about Corinna’s existence and everything that the emeritus had experienced with the German princess.
The ‘little orphan’: the inheritance of Don Juan, the grandfather of King Felipe
Journalist Pilar Eyre takes advantage of the moment to remember Felipe’s proclamation to go back to the times when the prince who was going to be king was called Juan Carlos. When the then king made any speech, all mention of his father, the Count of Barcelona, was always eliminated. “Every time he made a speech, Don Juan was eliminated as if Don Juan Carlos had been brought by the stork, as if his father did not exist. Don Juan always commented to his mayor: “look at him, there is the little orphan.”
“I think that Juan Carlos, from Abu Dhabi, will also tell his grandson Froilán, with whom he has such a good relationship: ‘Look at him, the little orphan”’. Few things have changed in the last ten years. King Juan Carlos is approaching Spain with constant trips where no one from his family comes to receive him. We have only seen Infanta Elena on some occasions attending to her father. No trace, of course, of the kings and their daughters. Felipe and Letizia have shielded the Princess of Asturias for the future.
Zarzuela tries to prevent the future heir from sharing an image with the emeritus king. A red line that Letizia already established with her father-in-law and her then brothers-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Palma, and that she continues to apply to her daughters. The legacy of the emeritus cannot tarnish the future of the institution. Although there are still many years ahead for that.
