Overview
- In interviews and excerpts, the former Spanish king credits Francisco Franco with making him monarch to open the regime, a stance that challenges Spain’s dominant view of the dictator.
- He acknowledges receiving $100 million from Saudi Arabia as a gift he now calls a grave error, disclosures that track with a Swiss probe into the Lucum account and the 2022 shelving of Spanish inquiries.
- Juan Carlos rejects long-circulating rumors of an affair with Princess Diana and portrays her as cold and distant, comments that have drawn sharp rebukes from some admirers online.
- He defends his actions during Spain’s 1981 coup attempt, describing “three coups at once” and accusing his former aide General Alfonso Armada of betrayal.
- The 512-page memoir, written with Laurence Debray, is set for publication in France on Nov. 5 and in Spain on Dec. 3, as the royal household signals the book is unhelpful and the emeritus king remains in self-imposed exile in the UAE.