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His Majesty King Juan Carlos

We are living through very demanding times. Many difficulties await us but we also have the support of the strong values that make us feel proud to be Spanish and the stimulus of our recent history of overcoming difficulties.

Palacio de La Zarzuela, 24.12.2011

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His Majesty the King Juan Carlos

His Majesty the King don Juan Carlos I was born on 5 January 1938 in Rome where the Royal Family was living, having had to leave Spain when the Republic was proclaimed in 1931. His parents were Juan de Borbon y Battenberg, Count of Barcelona and Head of the Spanish Royal Household since his father, King Alfonso XIII, relinquished this status, and Maria de las Mercedes de Borbon y Orleans.
At the express wish of his father, he was educated in Spain as from the age of ten, after a period as a boarder at the Marianist school in the Swiss town of Fribourg. His parents, meanwhile, had been living since 1946 in the coastal town of Estoril in Portugal.
 

His education

In 1954 he completed his secondary education at San Isidro School in Madrid and then went on to study at the Military Academies and Colleges of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force reaching the rank of Officer. During that period, he went to sea as a midshipman on the "Juan Sebastian Elcano" training ship, and also qualified as a military pilot. He completed his education from 1960 to 1961 at the Complutense University, Madrid, where he studied constitutional and international law, economics and taxation.
On 14 May 1962, in Athens, he married HRH Princess Sofia of Greece, the eldest daughter of King Paul I and Queen Federica. After their honeymoon, the Prince and Princess went to live at La Zarzuela Palace just outside Madrid which is still their residence today. Their first daughter, HRH the Infanta Elena, was born in 1963, followed two years later by HRH the Infanta Cristina and in 1968 by HRH Prince Felipe.

  • Don Juan Carlos durante una excursión en el barco "Saltillo"
    © EFE

    Don Juan Carlos durante una excursión en el barco "Saltillo"

    28.08.1949
  • Compromiso de Don Juan Carlos y Doña Sofía
    © EFE

    Compromiso de Don Juan Carlos y Doña Sofía

    Lausana (Suiza), 12.09.1961
  • Boda de SS.MM. los Reyes en Atenas
    © EFE

    Boda de SS.MM. los Reyes en Atenas

    Atenas (Grecia), 14.05.1962
  • Nacimiento de la Infanta Dª Elena
    © EFE

    Nacimiento de la Infanta Dª Elena

    Madrid, 21.12.1963
  • Nacimiento de Don Felipe
    © EFE

    Nacimiento de Don Felipe

    Madrid, 30.01.1968
  • Nacimiento de la Infanta Dª Cristina
    © EFE

    Nacimiento de la Infanta Dª Cristina

    Madrid, 13.06.1965
  • Imagen de Don Juan Carlos y Doña Sofía, acompañados por sus hijos en las Fiestas del Pilar del año 1970
    © EFE

    Imagen de Don Juan Carlos y Doña Sofía, acompañados por sus hijos en las Fiestas del Pilar del año 1970

    12.10.1970
After his designation as successor to the Head of State in 1969, he embarked on a series of official activities, touring Spain and visiting many foreign countries.
 

King of all Spaniards

After the death of the Head of State, Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was proclaimed King on 22 November 1975. In his first message to the nation in the Spanish Parliament, he expressed the basic ideas of his reign - to restore democracy and to become the King of all Spaniards, without exception.
The transition to democracy, under the guidance of a new Government, began with the 1976 Law for Political Reform. In May 1977, the Count of Barcelona transferred to the King his dynastic rights and his position as Head of the Spanish Royal Household in a ceremony which confirmed the role of the Crown in the restoration of democracy. A month later, the first democratic elections since 1936 were held, and the new Parliament drew up the text of the current Spanish Constitution which was approved by referendum on 6 December 1978 and received the royal assent in a solemn session of the Parliament on 27 December of the same year.
The Constitution establishes the political form of the State as a parliamentary monarchy in which the King is the arbiter and overseer of the proper working of the institutions. In his message to Parliament, King Juan Carlos expressly proclaimed his firm intention to abide by it and serve it. In fact it was the Monarch who saved the Constitution and democracy during the night of 23 February 1981 when the other Constitutional authorities had been held hostage in the Parliament building in an attempted coup.
During his reign, the King has paid official visits to almost all the countries of the world as well as the main worldwide and regional international organisations.

  • Don Juan Carlos acepta la sucesión a la Jefatura del Estado
    © EFE

    Don Juan Carlos acepta la sucesión a la Jefatura del Estado

    Madrid, 23.07.1969
  • Proclamación de Don Juan Carlos como Rey de España
    © EFE

    Proclamación de Don Juan Carlos como Rey de España

    Madrid, 22.11.1976
  • Referéndum sobre la Ley de la Reforma Política
    © EFE

    Referéndum sobre la Ley de la Reforma Política

    Madrid, 15.12.1976
  • El Conde de Barcelona cede los honores dinásticos a favor de su hijo, el Rey Juan Carlos I
    © EFE

    El Conde de Barcelona cede los honores dinásticos a favor de su hijo, el Rey Juan Carlos I

    Madrid, 14.05.1977
  • Sanción a la Constitución
    © EFE

    Sanción a la Constitución

    Madrid, 27.12.1978
  • Intervención de S.M. el Rey ante el intento de golpe de Estado
    © EFE

    Intervención de S.M. el Rey ante el intento de golpe de Estado

    Madrid, 24.02.1981
  • Firma de la Declaración de Principios Hispano-Norteamericana
    © EFE

    Firma de la Declaración de Principios Hispano-Norteamericana

    19.07.1974


His role as a statesman

HM the King has encouraged a new style in conducting relations with Latin America, stressing the identity of a cultural community based on a common language and pointing out the need to generate joint initiatives and take part in suitable kinds of co-operative activity. This is the rationale behind the Ibero American Summit Conferences, the first of which was held in Guadalajara in Mexico in 1991.
King Juan Carlos has always insisted on Spain’s European vocation throughout its history, and encouraged it to join the European Communities. The importance of the European Union in the contemporary world and especially in the areas most akin to it, including Latin America, has been stressed by the King in many of his messages.
His pro-European profile and his role in the restoration of democracy in Spain have been acknowledged through many International Awards.
He has been invested with honorary doctorates by some 30 Spanish and foreign universities of prestige.
The Spanish language, the heritage of the Spanish-speaking community, and its promising future in today’s world, are subjects of special interest to him. He encouraged the creation of the Foundation in support of the Royal Academy which was set up with the backing of public and private entities in 1994.

  • El Rey Juan Carlos recibe el premio Carlomagno en Aquisgrán (Alemania Federal)
    © EFE

    El Rey Juan Carlos recibe el premio Carlomagno en Aquisgrán (Alemania Federal)

    Aquisgrán (Alemania Federal), 20.06.1982
  • El Rey durante su intervención en los actos de la Pascua Militar
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey

    El Rey durante su intervención en los actos de la Pascua Militar

    Madrid, 06.01.2012
  • Firma del tratado de Adhesión de España a la Comunidad Económica Europea
    © EFE

    Firma del tratado de Adhesión de España a la Comunidad Económica Europea

    Madrid, 12.06.1985
  • Conferencia de Paz en Madrid sobre Oriente Medio
    © EFE

    Conferencia de Paz en Madrid sobre Oriente Medio

    Madrid, 30.10.1991
  • Inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Barcelona
    © EFE

    Inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Barcelona

    Barcelona, 25.07.1992
  • Celebración del 70 cumpleaños de S.M. el Rey
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey

    Celebración del 70 cumpleaños de S.M. el Rey

    Madrid, 09.01.2008
  • Ceremonia de apertura de la X Legislatura
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey

    Ceremonia de apertura de la X Legislatura

    Palacio de las Cortes. Madrid, 27.12.2011
  • El Rey Don Juan Carlos I es investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Nueva York
    © EFE

    El Rey Don Juan Carlos I es investido doctor "honoris causa" por la Universidad de Nueva York

    New York (USA), 07.12.1983
  • Don Juan Carlos durante su intervervención en la primera sesión de las Cumbres Iberoamericanas
    © EFE

    Don Juan Carlos durante su intervervención en la primera sesión de las Cumbres Iberoamericanas

    Guadalajara (México), 18.07.1991
  • Don Juan Carlos impone la medalla del premio Miguel de Cervantes 2010 a Ana María Matute
    © EFE

    Don Juan Carlos impone la medalla del premio Miguel de Cervantes 2010 a Ana María Matute

    Alcalá de Henares (Madrid), 27.04.2011
  • Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos, al anunciar a los españoles su voluntad de abdicar la Corona de España
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey

    Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos, al anunciar a los españoles su voluntad de abdicar la Corona de España

    Palacio de La Zarzuela. Madrid, 02.06.2014
  • Momento en el que Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos sanciona y promulga la Ley Orgánica por la que hace efectiva la abdicación de la Corona de España
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

    Momento en el que Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos sanciona y promulga la Ley Orgánica por la que hace efectiva la abdicación de la Corona de España

    Palacio Real de Madrid, 18.06.2014
  • Don Juan Carlos y Don Felipe se abrazan tras la firma de la Ley Orgánica por la que Su Majestad el Rey hace efectiva su abdicación
    © Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

    Don Juan Carlos y Don Felipe se abrazan tras la firma de la Ley Orgánica por la que Su Majestad el Rey hace efectiva su abdicación

    Palacio Real de Madrid, 18.06.2014
On 2 June 2014 His Majesty King Juan Carlos I signed and presented to the Prime Minister a document communicating his decision to abdicate the Spanish throne.
The Organic Law formalising the abdication of HM King Juan Carlos I was passed on 18 June 2014. The next day, his son HRH Prince Felipe was proclaimed King of Spain.
 

His special interests

As a keen sportsman, skiing and sailing being his favourites, King Juan Carlos supports and appreciates sporting activities as a formative influence of unquestionable social value. The King and Queen and the rest of the Royal Family frequently attend sporting events and their support of the Spanish Olympic teams was especially marked during the Olympic Games held in Barcelona in 1992.

Video

25 años de reinado de S.M. el Rey Don Juan Carlos (1ª parte). Reportaje RTVE
19.11.2000

Video

25 años de reinado de S.M. el Rey Don Juan Carlos (2ª parte). Reportaje RTVE
19.11.2000

Activities

Speeches

"... Aprovecho para transmitir de forma colectiva, a todos los implicados en la Operación Balmis al conjunto de las Fuerzas Armadas, un mensaje de apoyo y gratitud. Y de orgullo. Ante lo que es una contribución muy importante en un momento de necesidad y emergencia nacional ..."

Palabras de Su Majestad el Rey en la visita al Mando de Operaciones

Base de Retamares. Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), 3.4.2020S.M. el Rey