The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is approaching. Among the long list of guests, one of the names that has caused the most controversy is that of the former Spanish king, Juan Carlos I, who fled Spain for the UAE amid financial scandals in 2020 and has kept his distance from the country ever since. Since he confirmed his attendance at the funeral of his cousin in London, there has been all kinds of speculation, as well as great uneasiness from the Spanish government. And according to press reports this Friday, the presence of Spain's king emeritus has also put the rest of the Bourbon royal family in a difficult position, a few months after his only trip to Spain in two years, a tense and short visit in May this year. While it was already known that Juan Carlos will sit far his son, current monarch Felipe VI, during Elizabeth II's funeral, it has now been revealed that the emeritus will travel to London at his own expense, while king Felipe and his wife, queen Letizia, will be accompanied by queen Sofia on a Spanish Air Force plane, sources from the Zarzuela royal palace confirmed to Europa Press this Friday. In addition, the king and queen emeritus, Juan Carlos and Sofia, will also appear together at the reception held by the new monarch Charles III and will even sleep in the same hotel for "logistical and organizational reasons".
Sofia and Juan Carlos will sleep in the same hotel
Felipe VI and Letizia are said to have done their best to avoid the emeritus during the mourning ceremonies they will attend starting on Sunday in London on the occasion of the death of Elizabeth II. Juan Carlos will travel from Abu Dhabi to Madrid and then to the United Kingdom at his own expense, the sources said. For her part, queen Sofia, who has joined the itinerary of her son and daughter-in-law, will nevertheless accompany Juan Carlos during the events and will even stay in the same hotel as him. It will thus be the first meeting between the couple since the former king fled Spain in August 2020, although during his visit to the Zarzuela for a few hours in May, queen Sofia was present in the palace but, due to an apparent Covid infection, followed the family dinner from a distance. Meanwhile, Felipe and Letizia will sleep in the residence of the Spanish ambassador to London, José Pascual Marcos.
Current Spanish monarchs will avoid Juan Carlos I
The confirmation of the attendance of Juan Carlos I and Sofia of Greece at the funeral of their distant cousin Elizabeth II provided an opportunity for the Spanish Bourbons to appear together and united, in a way that has not been seen since another funeral, that of Juan Carlos's sister, infanta Pilar, in 2020. That was before Juan Carlos fled to Abu Dhabi and, although his situation was already difficult, and relations between father and son were very distant, they are now even more complex. However, this will not be possible, since once inside Westminster Abbey, they will not be seated together: the current monarchs will be positioned with the rest of the heads of state and their spouses, while Juan Carlos and Sofia will be elsewhere, with the rest of Buckingham Palace's 's guests. However, the king and queen emeritus, husband and wife, will sit together, an image that is unprecedented in the last two years.