King Juan Carlos abdicates: Monarch 'made his decision in January'
Monday, June 2, 2014 @ 2:00 PM
KING Juan Carlos I decided to abdicate from the throne five months ago and told president of the government, Mariano Rajoy and outgoing PSOE leader Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba in March, reports claim.
The Monarch said at the time that he had thought this momentous decision through 'very carefully', but that it had 'nothing to do with his health', nor with 'any other issues' – referring to his falling popularity of late.
Scenes of the former WWF chairman posing with an elephant he had shot in Botswana, and the criminal charges against his son-in-law Iñaki Urdangarín for public fund fraud – which the King's younger daughter, the Infanta Cristina, may not escape from – have led to calls for Spain to go back to being a republic as it was 39 years ago after the death of dictator General Francisco Franco.
Read mote at thinkSPAIN.com