Abdication of Juan Carlos I

{{main|Reign of Juan Carlos I}}

File:Zapatero saluda a S.M. el Rey de España Juan Carlos I.jpg greets King Juan Carlos I in October 2010.|left]]

In 2010, the medical team at the Royal Household detected a nodule in one of the King's lungs that could be cancerous.{{cite web |title=Spanish King to have lung nodule removed for tests |url=https://jp.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6470S6/ |website=Reuters |access-date=19 February 2024 |date=10 May 2010}} The news caused concern for the monarch's health at all levels of the country and raised the question of his continuity as head of state.{{cite web |title=Operación abdicación: De la renuncia del Rey a la proclamación de Felipe VI |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/operacion-abdicacion-de-la-renuncia-del-rey-a-la-proclamacion-de-felipe-vi_3no3my5kzwzjndere9okq1/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=24 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Martínez-Fornés |first1=Almudena |title=Las razones que llevaron al Rey a abdicar |url=https://www.abc.es/casa-del-rey/20150602/abci-razones-abdicacion-201506011054.html |website=ABC.es |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2015}} In order to study the possibility of establishing a regency in those first months of the year, Juan Carlos himself and Felipe González met with then Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and with President of the Congress of Deputies José Bono.{{cite book |last1=Quintáns |first1=Rebeca |author1-link=Rebeca Quintáns |title=Juan Carlos I: la biografía sin silencios |date=2016 |publisher=Akal |isbn=978-84-460-4279-2 |language=Spanish}} Finally, on 8 May, surgeons at the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona removed the tumor. The subsequent biopsy determined that it was benign{{cite web |last1=Heckle |first1=Harold |title=Spain's king undergoes lung surgery |url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-spains-king-undergoes-lung-surgery-2010may08-story.html |website=The San Diego Union-Tribune |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=8 May 2010}} and the discussion on the matter of the succession was put on hold.

From 2011 onwards, the King's public image began to deteriorate significantly due to the Nóos corruption case, in which his daughter, Infanta Cristina de Borbón, was implicated.{{cite web |title=Why Spain's Princess Cristina is on trial |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26047722 |website=BBC News |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=29 January 2016}}{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Mason |title=Princess Cristina Charged in Noos Corruption Case |url=https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-news/2013/04/05/princess-cristina-charged-in-noos-corruption-case/ |website=The Olive Press |access-date=21 February 2024 |date=5 April 2013 |url-access=registration}}

In April 2012, Juan Carlos suffered an accidental injury during a secret elephant-hunting trip in Botswana, which led to him being flown back home in a special aircraft. The trip, which cost roughly €40,000, had been paid for privately by a businessman, Mohammed Eyad Kayali. It led to a political scandal in the midst of an economic crisis in Spain, with the risk premium at historic highs, and the country on the verge of being intervened. In addition, the incident brought to light the lucrative private business that the monarch had been conducting for years with the Saudi oligarchy.{{cite web |last1=Zarzalejos |first1=José Antonio |title=Historia de cómo la Corona ha entrado en barrena |url=https://blogs.elconfidencial.com/espana/notebook/2012-04-15/historia-de-como-la-corona-ha-entrado-en-barrena_405690/ |website=El Confidencial |language=Spanish |date=15 April 2012}}{{cite web |title=Spain King Juan Carlos sorry for Botswana hunt trip |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17752983 |website=BBC News|access-date=20 February 2024 |date=18 April 2012}}{{cite web |last1=Pressly |first1=Linda |title=The king, his lover - and the elephant in the palace |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-53749630 |website=BBC News |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=20 August 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Badcock |first1=James |title=A wife, a lover and a hunting scandal. How Spain's King Juan Carlos fell from his throne |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/society/wife-lover-hunting-scandal-spains-king-juan-carlos-fell-throne/ |website=The Telegraph |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=10 October 2020|url-access=registration}}{{cite web |last1=Coro |first1=Cristina |title=Juan Carlos I Cree que de No Haberse Caído en Botsuana aún Sería Rey y Nada se Sabría de sus Escándalos |url=https://www.elespanol.com/porfolio/revision/20220413/carlos-no-haberse-caido-botsuana-sabria-escandalos/664433929_0.html |website=El Español |language=Spanish |date=13 April 2022 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |last1=Caruana Galizia |first1=Paul |title=Between Friends |url=https://www.tortoisemedia.com/2021/02/02/between-friends/ |website=Tortoise Media |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=2 February 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Junquera |first=Natalia |date=4 August 2020 |title=The downfall of Spain’s Juan Carlos I |url=https://english.elpais.com/spanish_news/2020-08-04/the-downfall-of-spains-juan-carlos-i.html |access-date=28 August 2024 |website=EL PAÍS English |language=en}}

Despite the scandal, the king continued to feel protected by the political class. Only Madrid socialist Tomás Gómez had spoken publicly about the possibility of his abdication.{{cite book |last1=Romero |first1=Ana |title=Final de partida: la crónica de los hechos que llevaron a la abdicación de Juan Carlos |date=2015 |publisher=La Esfera de los Libros |isbn=978-84-9060-382-6 |location=Madrid |language=Spanish }}{{cite web |last1=Cué |first1=Carlos E. |title=King's health leads main parties to mull law governing prince's role |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/24/inenglish/1380017002_907736.html |website=El País|access-date=20 February 2024 |date=24 September 2013}}{{cite web |last1=Junquera |first1=Natalia |last2=González |first2=Miguel |date=25 September 2013 |title=King Juan Carlos "in good spirits" after latest hip surgery |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/25/inenglish/1380120000_499469.html |access-date=20 February 2024 |website=El País}}{{cite web |last1=Fotheringham |first1=Alasdair |author1-link=Alasdair Fotheringham |title=The rise and fall of King Juan Carlos, 'saviour of Spain' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-rise-and-fall-of-king-juan-carlos-saviour-of-spain-8846584.html |website=The Independent |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=28 September 2013}}

Meanwhile, the king's health problems followed one after the other. Since the accident in Africa, Juan Carlos had undergone several surgeries to try to alleviate his mobility problems: the first one in November 2012 on his left hip joint; then in March 2013, a herniated disc repair surgery; and in September 2013, the second operation on his left hip.{{cite web |last1=Donadio |first1=Rachel |title=Spain's King Has Surgery Amid Debate on His Reign |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/28/world/europe/amid-controversy-spains-king-carlos-has-surgery-again.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=27 April 2012}}{{cite web |last1=Junquera |first1=Natalia |title=King Juan Carlos to go private for latest surgery |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/22/inenglish/1379865595_676242.html |website=El País|access-date=20 February 2024 |date=22 September 2013}}{{cite web |last1=Junquera |first1=Natalia |title=Wheels come off royal comeback as king prepares for new surgery |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2013/09/24/inenglish/1380015627_263053.html#?rel=mas |website=El País|access-date=20 February 2024 |date=24 September 2013}}

The first person to learn of the king's concerns was Félix Sanz Roldán, director of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) and a personal friend of the king.{{cite book |last1=Romero |first1=Ana |title=El rey ante el espejo : crónica de una batalla: legado, asedio y política en el trono de la reina Letizia y Felipe VI |date=2018 |publisher=La Esfera de los Libros|location=Madrid |isbn=978-84-9164-221-3 |language=Spanish}} On 19 November 2012 and in the presence of Sanz Roldán, Juan Carlos informed Rafael Spottorno, the {{ill|Private Secretary to the Royal Household of Spain|lt=Private Secretary to the King|es|Jefe de la Casa de Su Majestad el Rey}}, that he was considering the possibility of abdicating the throne.{{cite web |last1=Ónega |first1=Fernando |title=Juan Carlos I, la decisión más difícil de un Rey |url=https://www.larazon.es/espana/juan-carlos-i-la-decision-mas-dificil-de-un-rey-JF23628122/ |website=La Razón |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 August 2020}} The king set a symbolic date—5 January 2014—on occasion of his 76th birthday, that is, still 15 months to go.{{cite web |last1=Junquera |first1=Natalia |title=An abdication plan that was five months in the making |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/03/inenglish/1401796996_785602.html |website=El País |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=3 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Cruz Martín |first1=María del Carmen |title=El rey abdica en su hijo, el príncipe Felipe |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140602/rey-abdica/946961.shtml |website=RTVE|access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} Ten days later, Spottorno called his two predecessors, {{ill|Fernando Almansa|es}} and {{ill|Alberto Aza|es}}, to a meeting in which the four of them began to study the many legal and political issues, and also those of a personal nature for the king himself, related to the drafting of the future law.{{cite web |last1=Sánchez |first1=Javi |title=El ex jefe de la Casa Real habla de la abdicación del rey Juan Carlos por primera vez |url=https://www.revistavanityfair.es/realeza/articulos/podcast-rey-juan-carlos-xrey-spotify/44998 |website=Vanity Fair |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=19 May 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Taulés |first1=Silvia |title=Hablan los hombres del rey: "Había incendios en la familia, con la princesa, la infanta..." |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/casas-reales/2020-05-19/hombres-abdicacion-juan-carlos-i-incendios-familia_2601727/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=19 May 2020}} This is because the Constitution merely dictated, in article 57.5, that any doubt would have to be resolved by an organic law and approved by the Congress of Deputies by absolute majority. The Constitution did not specify whether the role of Congress was to authorize or to sanction, whether it would have to accept the decision made by the king, if he had to submit to the approval of Congress, or if, in short, the politicians could prevent him from abdicating. Among the personal issues, it was a matter of determining, among other things, if Juan Carlos could continue to reside or not in Zarzuela Palace.{{cite web |last1=Prego |first1=Victoria |title=Últimos días de un rey |url=https://www.elmundo.es/cronica/2014/06/08/5392ca0ce2704e615f8b456e.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 June 2014}}

In any case, the greatest fear of "the fantastic four" (as they came to be known colloquially around the palace) was that the political forces that were not in favor of the monarchy would "take advantage" of this law to "open the can of worms" about the form of the State. Given the doubts and the diversity of opinions among them, the king's men (among whom was also General {{ill|Domingo Martínez Palomo|es}} as Head of the Planning and Coordination Cabinet) decided to ask for help from the former president of the Congress of Deputies, former minister of justice, and permanent advisor to the Council of State, Landelino Lavilla, one of the jurists who had contributed the most to establishing the legal foundation for the Transition. Lavilla studied the matter and reached a preliminary conclusion: the law should be very brief so as not to stir a debate in Congress.{{cite web |title=Landelino Lavilla revela que el Rey le pidió que empezase a preparar su abdicación meses antes de anunciarla |url=https://www.eldiario.es/politica/landelino-lavilla-rey-abdicacion-anunciarla_1_3599848.html |website=elDiario.es |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=7 February 2017}}

During the deliberations, another thorny issue arose concerning dynastic rights within the royal family itself, as those in favor of Felipe being the undisputed successor faced a dilemma: on one hand, it was essential to develop and approve the organic law required by the Constitution, which would make unavoidable the pending reform of that same article 57 to abolish the prevalence of men over women in the succession to the throne.{{cite web |last1=Carmona Cuenca |first1=Encarna |title=¿Por qué hereda la corona un hombre y no una mujer? |url=https://www.eldiario.es/agendapublica/nueva_politica/hereda-corona-hombre-mujer_1_4840201.html |website=El Diario.es |language=Spanish |date=3 June 2014}} On the other hand, this issue would have to be addressed after Felipe became king because, otherwise, those who would be able to claim their rights would be the Infantas, Elena and Cristina. As if that were not enough, there was also the issue of immunity. Would it have to be resolved in the same organic law? In the end, it was decided that it was not convenient to risk the proclamation of the future king to shield the previous one, but that the priority was to get Parliament to approve the abdication without any problems and then, in a second organic law, "go for the immunity. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy summarized it at the time as "a mess".{{cite book |last1=Zarzalejos |first1=José Antonio |title=Mañana será tarde |date=2015 |publisher=Editorial Planeta, S.A.|isbn=978-84-08-14229-4 |language=Spanish}}

Throughout 2013, the small group continued to work on the matter, but Spottorno was not sure that His Majesty's decision was firm. He knew that, in spite of the disrepute into which his reign had fallen and the pressures to step aside, Juan Carlos maintained that "kings only leave when they die," that he, who had sacrificed his childhood and youth to one day be King of Spain, would "die with his crown on."{{cite web |last1=Ortega Dolz |first1=Patricia |title=Abdication news catches Spain by surprise |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/02/inenglish/1401709734_829061.html |website=El País |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=2 June 2014}}

File:Jose-Antonio-Zarzalejos.jpg

In spite of the precautions, in February 2013, a source with access to the king's inner circle disclosed to writer and journalist {{ill|José Antonio Zarzalejos|es}} that the monarch, overwhelmed by his difficult family situation and by the damage done to his public reputation, as well as his own physical health, was considering renouncing the throne. To verify the information, Zarzalejos met with the head of the Royal Household, who did not deny it. Thus, on 22 February, he published an article in El Confidencial under the title {{Langx|es|El rey baraja ya la abdicación|label=none}} (The king is already considering abdication).{{cite web |last1=Zarzalejos |first1=José Antonio |title=El Rey baraja ya la abdicación |url=https://blogs.elconfidencial.com/espana/notebook/2013-02-22/el-rey-baraja-ya-la-abdicacion_405580/ |website=El Confidencial|access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=22 February 2013}} Juan Carlos, annoyed at the indiscretion and despite being aware of its veracity, ordered these claims to be refuted.{{Cite podcast |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/2s5kzIYAhM48uV0VscmWhI |title=1x01. Una ley de un solo artículo (primera parte) |website=XRey |publisher=The Story Lab |host=de Cózar, Álvaro |date=1 May 2020 |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish}}{{cite book |last1=Zarzalejos |first1=José Antonio |title=Felipe VI. Un rey en la adversidad |date=2021 |publisher=Editorial Planeta, S.A. |isbn=9788408241553 |language=Spanish}}{{efn|Looking back, Zarzalejos suspects that he was used as the battering ram of a "simulation operation" set up by the head of the Royal Household so that the idea of the King's abdication would start to enter people's minds. Thus, in light of what happened afterwards, he reflects, his article should have been titled El entorno del rey baraja ya la abdicación (The king's entourage is already considering abdication), instead of El rey baraja ya la abdicación (The king is already considering abdication).}}

Juan Carlos I, married by law to Sofía of Greece but separated de facto from her for more than 40 years,{{cite web |last1=Tiburcio |first1=N. |title=Un exmiembro de Casa Real reconoce que Juan Carlos y Sofía no hacen vida marital |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/casas-reales/2020-07-14/juan-carlos-sofia-vidas-separas-miembro-zarzuela_2681563/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=14 July 2020}} was determined to divorce her and then marry his mistress at the time, Corinna Larsen—27 years his junior—but to keep the throne, as Edward VIII had tried to do in 1936 when he married US celebrity Wallis Simpson.{{cite book |last1=Ekaizer |first1=Ernesto |title=El rey al desnudo : historia de un fraude |date=2021 |publisher=Ediciones B |isbn=978-84-666-7011-1 |language=Spanish}} According to someone close to the king, the German-Danish businesswoman and Juan Carlos were preparing everything they needed to start a new life together. Included in that plan were the millionaire commission from the Arabs,{{cite web |author1=Besson, Sylvain |author2=Zumbach, Caroline |title=Une enquête dévoile l'argent secret de l'ex-roi d'Espagne à Genève. |url=https://www.tdg.ch/une-enquete-devoile-largent-secret-de-l-ex-roi-d-espagne-a-geneve-864694020010 |website=Tribune de Genève |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=French |date=3 March 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Badcock |first1=James |title=Spain's monarchy shaken by Juan Carlos's hidden Swiss fortune |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53415781 |website=BBC News |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=19 July 2020}} the duplex in the Swiss Alps,{{cite web |last1=Romero |first1=Ana |title=El dúplex del rey Juan Carlos y Corinna en los Alpes suizos |url=https://www.elespanol.com/espana/20151102/76242376_0.html |website=El Español |url-access=subscription |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 November 2015}} and the luxury apartment in the exclusive London neighborhood of Belgravia.{{cite web |last1=Olmo |first1=José María |title=El ático de Juan Carlos I: vistas a Hyde Park, dos plantas, sala de masaje y 'hall' de escoltas |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2020-08-01/el-atico-de-juan-carlos-i-barrio-de-lujo-vistas-a-hyde-park-dos-plantas-y-hall-para-escoltas_2702531/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=1 August 2020}}

In 2012, the king made available to Corinna, in the form of an "absolute gift", the 65 million euros he had received four years earlier. The money had been transferred from the Mirabaud banking group to an account in {{ill|Gonet & Cie|lt=Gonet bank|de}} in the name of shell company Solare, based in Nassau, Bahamas. Larsen was the sole beneficiary of that account. The date on the donation document had been handwritten, which made one suspect that it had been drafted without that piece of information, "in anticipation of [needing] to submit it to the judicial authorities with the most convenient [date] for her defense if an investigation were to be launched.{{cite web |last1=Bayo |first1=Carlos Enrique |title=Juan Carlos I utilizó Patrimonio Nacional para pagar lujos a sus amantes y los gastos de sus palacios, yates y viajes |url=https://www.publico.es/politica/origen-fortuna-rey-emerito-5-juan-carlos-i-utilizo-patrimonio-nacional-pagar-lujos-amantes-gastos-palacios-yates-viajes.html |website=Público |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=19 August 2021}} The beneficiary's lawyers argued that it was "an unsolicited gift" from Juan Carlos as a donation to her and her son, with whom he "had become attached."{{cite web |last1=Prieto |first1=Carlos |title=El expediente Corinna: cómo el amor (al dinero) devoró al rey Juan Carlos |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2020-03-08/corinna-juan-carlos-rey-corona-real-amor-dinero_2486155/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=8 March 2020}}

Juan Carlos continued to search for a residence in which to live with Corinna, either in the ward of El Pardo (Madrid) or in Eaton Square (London). The sultan of Oman, Qaboos bin Said Al Said, offered to serve as host. In 2014, just two weeks after the king's abdication, the sultan would gift Juan Carlos a penthouse in London valued at 62.7 million euros.{{cite web |title=Juan Carlos I recibió un ático en Londres tras abdicar comprado por Omán que luego revendió |url=https://www.publico.es/politica/juan-carlos-i-recibio-atico-londres-abdicar-comprado-oman-luego-revendio.html |website=Público |access-date=20 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=31 July 2020}} Meanwhile, Mohammed VI of Morocco offered him a large estate near Marrakesh where he could build a palace.{{cite web |title=Why Does Mohammed VI Give The Spanish King A Plot Of Land In Morocco? |url=https://www.echoroukonline.com/why-does-mohammed-vi-give-the-spanish-king-a-plot-of-land-in-morocco |website=Echorouk Online |access-date=20 February 2024 |date=27 July 2020}} But CNI director Félix Sanz Roldán flatly refused: "The king of Spain cannot, under any circumstance, not even after having abdicated, spend long periods of time in non-Western countries with a woman who is not his wife." Thus, the King's longing started to fade due to the influence exerted by two of the people who had the most direct and open access to him: former President Felipe González and Sanz Roldán himself. It was within that environment of trust and openness with the monarch when a veteran advisor was heard telling the king: "Juan, tú eliges: o Corinna o Corona" (Juan, you choose: either Corinna or the Crown).{{cite web |author1=Portero, Pilar |author2=Cañil, Ana |title="Juan, o Corinna o Corona" |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.es/pilar-portero-y-ana-canil/juan-o-corinna-o-corona_b_2819609.html |website=HuffPost |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=6 March 2013}}

File:Pascuamilitar.JPG of 2009.]]

The most reliable versions define Monday, 6 January 2014, as the point of no return towards the end of the reign of Juan Carlos I.{{cite web |last1=García Casas |first1=Luis |title=El fin del reinado de Juan Carlos |url=https://www.dw.com/es/el-fin-del-reinado-de-juan-carlos/a-17676852 |website=DW.com |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}{{cite news |last1=Sánchez-Mellado |first1=Luz |title=La retirada del rey cansado |url=https://elpais.com/politica/2014/06/02/actualidad/1401719439_990024.html |website=El País |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014|url-access=subscription}} As every year, the Pascua Militar event was being celebrated. Both the Army military leadership itself, as well as the media and the general public, harbored doubts about the real physical capabilities of the monarch to reliably assume the responsibilities of the highest state institution.{{cite web |last1=Minder |first1=Raphael |author1-link=Raphael Minder |title=In Break With Tradition, It's Open Season on the Royal Family |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/world/europe/open-season-on-spains-royal-family.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=21 February 2024 |date=15 April 2013}}

The formal ceremony started first thing in the morning. That year, the {{ill|inspection of the troops|es|Revista (militar)}} had been excluded from the ceremony to prevent the king from experiencing any physical discomfort. The speech, however, was unavoidable. Thus, past one o'clock in the afternoon, Juan Carlos approached the lectern and, after the usual greetings, began his speech. The audience immediately realized the difficulties that the speaker was going through. The captain general of the Army, rather than delivering a speech, was "stumbling" over the written words.{{cite web |author1=Junquera, Natalia |author2=González, Miguel |title=King struggles to deliver speech at first public ceremony since hip operation |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/01/06/inenglish/1389030684_110517.html |website=El País |access-date=21 February 2024 |date=6 January 2014}} As journalist Álvaro de Cózar said, Juan Carlos "trips over the words; stutters on every period, on every comma." The head of the Press and Communications Office of the Royal Household, Javier Ayuso, was so distressed—because, in addition, the ceremony was being broadcast live on radio and television throughout the country—that he suffered a fainting fit and had to be discreetly removed from the room. Finally, after skipping entire paragraphs and "with pitiful embarrassment," Juan Carlos ended his speech.{{cite web |last1=Taulés |first1=Silvia |title=El último discurso del Rey don Juan Carlos I: de su "buf" al desmayo de su jefe de prensa |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/casas-reales/2022-01-06/ultimo-discurso-rey-juan-carlos-i-desmayo-jefe-prensa_3353865/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=6 January 2022}}

The press, social media, and subsequent publications referred harshly to the distressing episode: "two agonizing minutes, a moment of national embarrassment;" "a dreadful moment of collective shame and chagrin." Moreover, the monarch projected a "pitiful" image before the army leadership, the group to which he felt most united by vocation and affection.

In the following days, it became known that the king, ignoring the warnings of his advisors about the transcendence and imminence of the event, had flown the previous week to London to celebrate his birthday with his "de facto family" (his lover, Corinna Larsen; his friend and Corinna's first husband Philip Adkins; and her son, Alexander),{{cite web |last1=Eyre |first1=Pilar |title=La extraña familia que el rey Juan Carlos tenía escondida con Corinna y sus exmaridos |url=https://www.lecturas.com/blogs/pilar-eyre/extrana-familia-que-rey-juan-carlos-tenia-escondida-corinna-y-sus-exmaridos_95832 |website=Lecturas |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=20 January 2021}}{{cite web |title=Juan Carlos de Borbón y Corinna Larsen eran como un matrimonio |url=https://www.lecturas.com/actualidad/pilar-eyre-da-mas-detalles-sobre-relacion-entre-juan-carlos-borbon-y-corinna-larsen-eran-como-matrimonio_86809 |website=Lecturas |access-date=21 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=5 October 2020}} as well as with Mohammed Eyad Kayali, representative of the Royal House of Saudi Arabia in Spain and a close friend of the king.{{cite web |title=Kayali, el amigo saudí del rey que pagó la cacería de Botsuana |url=https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/casas-reales/2012-04-18/kayali-el-amigo-saudi-del-rey-que-pago-la-caceria-de-botsuana_534820/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=18 April 2012}} The party lasted until late on Sunday, the 5 January, when it was already completely dark in the English city. When the time came for the return flight home, the thick fog that covered London caused the take-off to be delayed until well into the early hours of Monday morning. Juan Carlos barely slept that night.

Just one day after the speech, on Tuesday, 7 January 2014, the Infanta Cristina was charged by Judge {{ill|José Castro Aragón|es}},{{cite web |last1=Frayer |first1=Lauren |title=A Fairy Tale Gone Wrong: Spain's Princess Accused Of Fraud |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/02/06/272478159/a-fairy-tale-gone-wrong-spains-princess-accused-of-fraud |website=NPR |access-date=21 February 2024 |date=7 February 2014}} but it was not until late February when Spottorno received the order to implement his decision.

The task force had grown: Spottorno, Ayuso, Lavilla, the former heads of the Royal Household, and the prince himself were joined by Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría and Under Secretary of the Presidency {{ill|Jaime Pérez Renovales|es}}. Although there were lively discussions on the final form that the law should take, in the end the theory proposed by Lavilla prevailed, which Ayuso would put into words as follows: "Do not put things that require a debate in Congress; only this, so that there will be no discussion: 'the king abdicates in his son's favor;' but nothing more."

In March 2014, Juan Carlos notified his son Felipe on the 26th, and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on the 31st, about his impending plans to abdicate. In turn, former Prime Minister José María Aznar told his right-hand man Javier Zarzalejos in late May. The risk of leaks hastened the events and thus it was decided to move up the date to 2 June.{{cite web |title=Abdicación. El rey decidió renunciar al trono en su cumpleaños |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/abdicacion-el-rey-decidio-renunciar-al-trono-en-su-cumpleanos_cFDhrHROV43HiUgVUkoDG4/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}

The commemorative event to mark the 250th anniversary of the {{ill|Segovia Artillery Academy|es|Academia de Artillería de Segovia}}, held in the Alcázar of Segovia on 16 May 2014, was presided over by Juan Carlos as his last official engagement before the announcement of his abdication.{{cite web |title=El Rey presidirá en Segovia el desfile de los 250 años de la Academia de Artillería |url=https://www.abc.es/local-castilla-leon/20140509/abci-presidira-segovia-desfile-anos-201405091326.html |website=ABC.es |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 May 2014}}

On 2 June, around 9:30 a.m., the Office of the Prime Minister summoned all journalists in charge of covering governmental information. The urgent announcement called for an institutional statement by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at around 10:30 a.m. at the Palace of Moncloa.{{cite web |title=Entre tres y seis semanas para la proclamación del rey Felipe VI |url=https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_espanola/2014060371693/tramite-proclamacion-felipe/ |website=¡Hola! |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=3 June 2014}} Due to the surprising nature of the announcement, initial speculations pointed to a governmental crisis caused by the results of the European elections; however, this possibility was soon dismissed. At 10 a.m., Zarzalejos published in digital newspaper El Confidencial an article titled {{Lang|es|El rey abdica para salvar a la Monarquía de la crisis institucional}} (The King abdicates to save the Monarchy from an institutional crisis).{{cite web |last1=Zarzalejos |first1=José Antonio |title=El Rey abdica para salvar a la Monarquía de la crisis institucional |url=https://blogs.elconfidencial.com/espana/notebook/2014-06-02/el-rey-abdica-para-salvar-a-la-monarquia-de-la-crisis-institucional_139610/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} Minutes before the statement was scheduled, several media outlets implied it would deal with the abdication of the monarch.{{cite web |title=La noticia de la abdicación del rey toma las portadas de los digitales en tiempo récord |url=http://233grados.lainformacion.com/blog/2014/06/la-noticia-de-la-abdicaci%C3%B3n-del-rey-toma-las-portadas-de-los-digitales-en-tiempo-r%C3%A9cord.html |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140605051043/http://233grados.lainformacion.com/blog/2014/06/la-noticia-de-la-abdicaci%C3%B3n-del-rey-toma-las-portadas-de-los-digitales-en-tiempo-r%C3%A9cord.html |archive-date=5 June 2014 |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |last1=Terán |first1=Borja |title=El Rey abdica: así lo están contando todas las cadenas de televisión |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/opinion/borja-teran/el-rey-abdica-asi-lo-estan-contando-todas-las-cadenas-de-television/30571/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}{{cite web |title=La prensa internacional se hace eco de la abdicación de Juan Carlos I |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/la-prensa-internacional-se-hace-eco-de-la-abdicacion-de-juan-carlos-i_Giwp2Eqbl2MbxynsWi0cT1/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}

At 10.30 a.m., the prime minister announced Juan Carlos's intention to renounce the throne and abdicate in his son's favor.

{{Blockquote|text=His Majesty King Juan Carlos has just communicated to me his will to renounce the throne and launch the succession process. The reasons that have led the King to make this decision are something that His Majesty wishes to communicate personally to all Spaniards this very morning.|author=Mariano Rajoy}}

File:Carta abdicacion Juan Carlos I.gif

Shortly after the prime minister's statement, the Royal Household shared on Twitter the letter by which the King formalized his decision.

The recording at the palace of Juan Carlos's abdication announcement had to be repeated twice due to mistakes he had made, and thus its broadcast was delayed until 13:05.{{cite web |last1=Junquera |first1=Natalia |title=How King Juan Carlos revealed his abdication secret |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/04/inenglish/1401876464_454314.html |website=El País |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=4 June 2014}} In the speech, which lasted six minutes, Juan Carlos recalled his accession in 1975 and reviewed his work as head of state during the previous 39 years. The speech began with these words:{{cite web |title=King addresses Spaniards via television message to announce his abdication |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/02/inenglish/1401707795_803686.html |website=El País |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=2 June 2014}}{{Blockquote|text=I come to you this morning with this message to tell you, overcome by emotion, of an important decision and the reasons that moved me to make it. Guided by the conviction of having rendered the best service to the Spanish people and having recovered physically and resumed my institutional activities, I have decided to put an end to my reign and abdicate the Crown of Spain, so that the Government and the Cortes Generales can give effect to the succession in accordance with the Constitution.|author=King Juan Carlos I}}

He also stated that he had made the decision to abdicate the Crown in January 2014 after his 76th birthday and that, once he had recovered physically, he had decided to inform the prime minister.

Referring to the economic situation in Spain and the transformations and renovations demanded by society, he acknowledged that these should be carried out by the new generations and that his son, Felipe de Borbón, already had the necessary preparation and maturity to take over as head of state. Juan Carlos concluded by thanking the people of Spain, all the representatives of the state institutions, and the Queen for their support and loyalty.

Meanwhile, Corinna Larsen, who was staying at The Mark hotel in New York City, received a personal message from the king, to which she reacted with "a mixture of displeasure and contempt".

{{Blockquote|text=He has just made the biggest mistake of his life. He has signed his death warrant. He will spend the rest of his days in a golden cage.|author=Corinna Larsen}}

File:Reunión extraordinaria del Consejo de Ministros de España el 3 de junio de 2014.jpg

In his statement, Rajoy had announced the convening of a special meeting of the Council of Ministers, which was indeed held on 3 June, and which approved the submission to the Cortes Generales of the draft organic law, thus making effective the abdication. According to Article 57.5 of the Spanish Constitution, "abdications and renunciations and any doubt, de facto or de jure, occurring in the order of succession to the Crown shall be resolved by an organic law."{{cite web |title=Spanish politicians set out abdication timetable |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27672997 |website=BBC News |access-date=22 February 2024 |date=3 June 2014}}

Finally, the draft organic law that was approved consisted of a single article and a single final provision, as follows:{{cite web |title=Proyecto de Ley Orgánica por la que se hace efectiva la abdicación de Su Majestad el Rey Don Juan Carlos I de Borbón |url=https://www.senado.es/legis10/publicaciones/pdf/senado/bocg/BOCG_D_10_365_2507.PDF |website=Senate of Spain |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=12 June 2014}}

{{Blockquote|text=Sole article. Abdication of H.M. King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

1. H.M. King Juan Carlos I abdicates the Crown of Spain.

2. The abdication shall become effective at the moment this Organic Law enters into force.

Sole final provision. Entry into force.

The present Law shall enter into force at the moment of its publication in the Official State Gazette.}}

Moreover, the Council of Ministers approved an Agreement requesting an urgent procedure for its processing in Parliament.{{cite web |title=Referencia del Consejo de Ministros |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/06/03/538dcf0dca474146048b456d.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=3 June 2014}}

Between 3 and 8 June, Juan Carlos concluded his antepenultimate week on the Spanish throne. On 4 June, several members of the business sector honored Juan Carlos in a ceremony at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.{{cite web |date=4 June 2014 |title=Don Juan Carlos, ovacionado con gritos de '¡Viva el Rey!' en la entrega del Premio Reino de España |url=https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_espanola/2014060471734/rey-juan-carlos-discurso-abdicacion/ |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=¡Hola! |language=Spanish}} The same day he presided over the traditional {{ill|Charity bullfight|es|Corrida de Beneficencia}} from the Royal Box at Las Ventas bullfighting ring. It was the last time the king presided over this event once his abdication of the crown was announced.{{cite web |last1=Sánchez-Mellado |first1=Luz |date=5 June 2014 |title=The king's last bullfight |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/05/inenglish/1401960133_078272.html |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=El País}} On 6 June, former Prime Minister José María Aznar bade him farewell in a column for The Wall Street Journal.{{cite web |last1=Aznar |first1=José María |date=5 June 2014 |title=King Juan Carlos, Thank You |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/jose-maria-aznar-king-juan-carlos-thank-you-1402011068 |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=The Wall Street Journal}} On Sunday, 8 June, he bade farewell to the Armed Forces as commander-in-chief, with the presence of his Royal Guard, the Army, the Air and Space Force, the Navy, and the Civil Guard.{{cite web |date=9 June 2014 |title=El Rey Juan Carlos I se despide de las Fuerzas Armadas entre vítores y aplausos |url=https://www.farodevigo.es/espana/2014/06/09/rey-juan-carlos-i-despide-17190281.html |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=Faro de Vigo |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |date=8 June 2014 |title=King of Spain attends last parade before abdicating |url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/king-of-spain-attends-last-parade-before-abdicating-1.1858565?cache=yes%3Fot%3DAjaxLayout |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=CTV News}}

The following day, he received President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto, to whom he awarded the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic.{{cite web |date=9 June 2014 |title=El rey de España condecora al presidente de México y a su esposa |url=https://www.trt.net.tr/espanol/espana-y-america-latina/2014/06/09/el-rey-de-espana-condecora-al-presidente-de-mexico-y-a-su-esposa-88530 |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=TRT en español |language=Spanish}} On 12 June, Juan Carlos received from Adolfo Suárez Illana the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, awarded posthumously to his father, former Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez González.{{cite web |date=12 June 2014 |title=El emotivo encuentro de don Juan Carlos y Adolfo Suárez Illana |url=https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_espanola/2014061271902/rey-toison-adolfo-suarez/ |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=¡Hola! |language=Spanish}} On the same day, he held his last meeting with {{ill|Joaquín Gay de Montellá Ferrer-Vidal|es}}, the president of the Catalan employers' association {{ill|National Labor Development|es|Fomento del Trabajo Nacional}}.{{cite web |date=12 June 2014 |title=El Rey celebra con Gay de Montellà su última audiencia como Jefe de Estado |url=https://www.europapress.es/catalunya/noticia-rey-celebra-gay-montella-ultima-audiencia-jefe-estado-20140612142129.html |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=Europa Press |language=Spanish}}

File:Acto en Badajoz.jpg

In order for the law to be approved by an absolute majority, support from the socialists was key. The then leader of the opposition, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, played a decisive role. Rubalcaba, who had served as minister of education, minister of the interior, government spokesperson, and deputy prime minister in successive PSOE governments, had forged a close friendship with Juan Carlos I dating back to 1992, when both presided over numerous events and competitions during the Olympic Games in Barcelona.{{cite magazine |title=Así se fraguó la amistad entre el rey Juan Carlos y Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, uno de sus políticos más queridos |url=https://www.revistavanityfair.es/poder/articulos/asi-se-fraguo-la-amistad-entre-el-rey-juan-carlos-y-alfredo-perez-rubalcaba-uno-de-sus-politicos-mas-queridos/38047 |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=10 May 2019}}

In the spring of 2014, Juan Carlos asked the veteran politician for help in getting his group to support the law that would guarantee dynastic continuity. The request came at a very bad time for the secretary general, who in those days was going through his most difficult period as the leader of the main opposition party.{{cite web |last1=Sanz |first1=Luis Ángel |title=Rubalcaba se va |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/05/26/53832a0b268e3e1f488b4571.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=26 May 2014}} But, putting his own interests behind those of the monarch, he replied: "Sir, if that is your decision, you can count on me. It is not ideal for me, but I will not leave without having settled the matter."{{cite web |last1=Rayón |first1=Fernando |title=Rubalcaba, ante la abdicación de Juan Carlos I: "Me viene fatal, pero contad conmigo" |url=https://www.larazon.es/espana/me-viene-fatal-pero-contad-conmigo-FL23285918 |website=La Razón |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=11 May 2019}} And indeed, he remained at the head of the party even after the electoral results of the European Parliament elections, which meant a significant decline in support from left-wing voters. In an interview recorded shortly before his death, in 2019, he recalled it thusly: "I resigned the day after the European elections; [but] I did not resign and leave, which is what I could have done, what Joaquín Almunia did: you resign, appoint a management committee, and leave. No, I resigned and stayed, and I called on a congress for the following month."{{Cite podcast |url=https://open.spotify.com/episode/7xPfzpJG0AivgF8snPaluw |title=1x02. Una ley de un solo artículo (segunda parte) |website=XRey |publisher=The Story Lab |host=de Cózar, Álvaro |date=1 May 2020 |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish}}

To try and convince the most reluctant deputies and regional leaders to vote "yes", Rubalcaba appealed to the "constitutional consensus", which he placed above even the foundational "deep republican roots" of the party.

Even in spite of his attempts, many parliamentarians continued to align themselves with the theories of other left-wing parties and insisted that the final approval of the law could be conditioned to an either prior or simultaneous public consultation. From United Left, Alberto Garzón summed up the internal debates and tensions of those days as follows:{{cite web |title=Alberto Garzón (IU): "Tengo muy claro que pactaremos con Podemos" |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/alberto-garzon-iu-tengo-muy-claro-que-pactaremos-con-podemos_lbqjfnhhymchhttza1iuo2/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=4 June 2014}}

{{Blockquote|text=Nothing prevented that law from including a referendum before it. I mean, you can make a law that says "Yes, this is going to be like this, as long as in the referendum that I put forward, citizens say that they do want this." Then, within the PSOE there was a major rift: many deputies were saying in private that they would support the referendum and that we should keep pushing.|author=Alberto Garzón}}

In that context, Odón Elorza, a Basque socialist deputy and former mayor of San Sebastián, sent to the leadership of the Socialist Group a letter in which he asked for an in-depth internal debate or, in any case, that those parliamentarians who so requested it, be granted the freedom to vote "for reasons of republican conscience."{{cite web |title=Varios diputados del PSOE piden una reunión interna ante la ley de abdicación |url=https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20140604/diputados-psoe-piden-reunion-interna-ley-abdicacion-3290982 |website=El Periódico |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=4 June 2014}} The secretary general refused.{{cite web |last1=Sanz |first1=Gabriel |title=Rubalcaba irá mañana a la cita del Grupo Socialista para frenar a los "republicanos" |url=https://www.abc.es/espana/20140609/abci-rubalcaba-grupo-201406091841.html |website=ABC.es |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 June 2014}}

On Wednesday, 11 June, the Plenary of the Congress of Deputies debated the draft organic law that would make the abdication effective.

The plenary session began with an agreement for the direct processing and single reading of the draft bill submitted by the government. The draft bill was presented by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and the debate continued with the participation of the representatives of the various parliamentary groups.

After all the speeches, then came the vote for the amendments to the whole text of the bill. Some of them (Plural Left and part of the {{ill|Mixed group (Spain)|lt=mixed group|es|Grupo mixto (España)}}) advocated for holding a referendum to decide on the form of the State, and others (Galician Nationalist Bloc and Republican Left of Catalonia) added to this demand the recognition of the right to self-determination of the various state territories. All initiatives were rejected.{{cite web |title=La mayoría del grupo mixto muestra sus reticencias a la ley de abdicación |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/la-mayoria-del-grupo-mixto-muestra-sus-reticencias-a-la-ley-de-abdicacion_SR1V9Vgu13zZZp9WGe7By5/ |website=La Información |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=17 June 2014}}{{cite web |title=Los partidos presentan cinco enmiendas contra la ley de abdicación y piden un referéndum |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140609/partidos-presentan-cinco-enmiendas-contra-ley-abdicacion-piden-referendum/951565.shtml |website=RTVE |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 June 2014}}

The vote took place then via roll call, whereby each of the parliamentarians had to state their position on the document out loud as they were called.{{cite web |title=El Congreso aprueba la ley de abdicación del rey Juan Carlos |url=https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_espanola/2014061171863/votacion-ley-abdicacion-rey/ |website=¡Hola! |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=11 June 2014}} During the vote, some deputies expressed their support for the Republic and others for an independent Catalan republic.

Of the 350 deputies who made up the chamber, 341 expressed their vote, since two deputies from PSOE did not appear due to their disagreement with the leadership and the seven from Amaiur were absent from the plenary session as a sign of protest. There were 299 deputies in favor and 19 against, while 23 of them abstained.{{cite web |author1=Cruz, M.C. |author2=García, A.B. |title=El Congreso aprueba la ley de abdicación del rey Juan Carlos I con 299 votos a favor |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140611/congreso-aprueba-ley-organica-abdicacion-del-rey-juan-carlos-i/952561.shtml |website=RTVE |access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=11 June 2014}} One of these abstentions was that of the former mayor of San Sebastián, Odón Elorza, who refused to follow the party line.{{cite web |title=Elorza y Gasulla rompen la unanimidad del PSOE en favor del relevo monárquico |url=https://www.abc.es/espana/rey-juan-carlos-i-abdica/20140611/abci-elorza-votacin-psoe-201406111211.html |website=ABC.es|access-date=22 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611114114/https://www.abc.es/espana/rey-juan-carlos-i-abdica/20140611/abci-elorza-votacin-psoe-201406111211.html |archive-date=11 June 2014 |language=Spanish}}

Once approved, the document was sent directly to the Senate.{{cite web |date=11 June 2014 |title=Spain Felipe: MPs back royal succession |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27792134 |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=BBC News}}

The Organic Law that regulated the abdication of King Juan Carlos received the approval of the Senate on Tuesday, 17 June. The debate, in which the senators representing the different Parliamentary Groups took part, began with the proposals of veto of the law presented by United Left, Republican Left of Catalonia, and Initiative for Catalonia Greens. This was followed by the debate of the text as a whole by the spokespersons of the various groups.

The parliamentary session ended with the vote on the veto proposals, which were rejected, and the approval of the draft Organic Law with 233 votes in favor, five against, and 20 abstentions out of a possible 266.

With the completion of this procedure, the Organic Law was deemed to have been approved by the Cortes Generales.{{cite web |last1=Menéndez |first1=María |title=Juan Carlos I pone fin a su reinado con la sanción de la ley de abdicación |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140618/juan-carlos-i-pone-fin-a-su-reinado-con-sancion-ley-abdicacion/957084.shtml |website=RTVE|access-date=22 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=18 June 2014}}

{{Multiple image

| image1 = Firmaleyabdicacionjuancarlos.jpg

| caption1 = Juan Carlos I signing the organic law on abdication.

| image2 = Rajoy_refrenda_la_ley_orgánica_de_abdicación.jpg

| caption2 = Mariano Rajoy countersigning the sanction and promulgation of the law.

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The sanction and promulgation of Organic Law 3/2014 of 18 June, by which the abdication of King Juan Carlos I was made effective, took place during a solemn ceremony at the Royal Palace of Madrid.{{cite web |date=18 June 2014 |title=Spain king: Juan Carlos signs his abdication |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27910104 |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=BBC News}} The ceremony, although short, was witnessed by a considerable number of guests, among whom were the presidents of the high state institutions, members of government, former prime ministers, and some notable political figures. Also present were some members of the Royal Family, such as King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía; the Prince and Princess of Asturias, Felipe and Letizia; and the Infantas Leonor, Sofía, and Elena. Also in attendance were the King's sisters, Infanta Pilar and Infanta Margarita, the Infante Carlos and his wife Princess Anne, the King and Queen of Greece Constantine and Anne Marie, and the eldest grandson of the King and Queen of Spain, Felipe.

The ceremony began with the reading of the text of the Organic Law by Under Secretary of the Presidency {{ill|Jaime Pérez Renovales|es}}. Next, Juan Carlos I signed the contents of the law, a power conveyed to him by Article 91 of the Constitution of Spain (CE). Afterwards, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy signed the text, given that by constitutional mandate (art. 56.3 CE) the acts of the King are not valid if they do not receive the endorsement of the head of the government, as established in article 64 of the Constitution. With this act, the Law was promulgated, and its publication ordered.

After King Juan Carlos finished signing the document, he addressed his son Felipe and gave him his seat as a symbol of succession.

File:Proclamacionfelipevi2.jpg

The law was published in the Official State Gazette at midnight on Thursday, 19 June 2014, at which time its contents and the abdication of Juan Carlos from the Crown became effective. Consequently, his firstborn son Felipe became the new King of Spain, in accordance with Article 57.1 of the Spanish Constitution. His eldest daughter, Leonor de Borbón, became Princess of Asturias and heiress presumptive and, at the age of eight, the youngest direct heir in Europe as the first in the line of succession to the throne.{{cite web |date=19 June 2014 |title=Leonor, la niña que empieza a ser princesa |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140619/leonor-empieza-a-ser-princesa-se-prepara-para-llegar-a-reinar/949161.shtml |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=RTVE |language=Spanish}}

{{ill|Proclamation of Felipe VI|lt=Felipe's proclamation as king|es|Proclamación de Felipe VI}} took place at the morning of 19 June.{{cite web |last1=Urra |first1=Susana |title=Felipe VI becomes the new king of Spain |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/19/inenglish/1403167125_092752.html |website=El País |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=19 June 2014}} Juan Carlos did not attend his son's proclamation. According to a spokesperson for the royal household, the decision was made in order to "give more prominence to the new king."

At the beginning of June, the last issue (and one of the most important) of Spottorno's roadmap was addressed: Juan Carlos's legal protection after having lost his sovereign immunity.{{cite web |last1=Ellakuría |first1=Iñaki |date=2 June 2014 |title=El Rey perderá su inviolabilidad tras la abdicación pero puede pasar a ser aforado |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20140603/54408625245/rey-inmunidad-abdicacion-aforado.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=La Vanguardia |language=Spanish}} Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría had had the idea of including the new legal status of the outgoing king within a law that was already in force, in order to be able to move it forward without problems. The State bureaucracy got down to work and, so as to make the move more effective, gave it a name that was as long as it was vague: Ley Orgánica 4/2014, de 11 de julio, complementaria de la Ley de racionalización del sector público y otras medidas de reforma administrativa por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del Poder Judicial (Organic Law 4/2014 of 11 July, supplementary to the Law for the streamlining of the public sector and other measures of administrative reform by which Organic Law 6/1985 of 1 July 1985 of the Judiciary is amended).{{cite web |title=Ley Orgánica 4/2014, de 11 de julio, complementaria de la Ley de racionalización del sector público y otras medidas de reforma administrativa por la que se modifica la Ley Orgánica 6/1985, de 1 de julio, del Poder Judicial. |url=https://www.boe.es/eli/es/lo/2014/07/11/4 |access-date=21 February 2024 |website=Boletín Oficial del Estado |publisher=Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado (AEBOE) |pages=54647–54652 |language=Spanish}} Two amendments included in that obscure law for the streamlining of the public sector would henceforth protect Juan Carlos I under the cloak of the Supreme Court. Although it only received the support of the People's Party,{{cite web |date=18 June 2014 |title=PP defiende la necesidad de regular aforamiento del Rey ante nueva situación |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/pp-defiende-la-necesidad-de-regular-aforamiento-del-rey-ante-nueva-situacion_wdn9s3er6pevpn7apudro4/ |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=La Información |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |date=18 June 2014 |title=JpD no ve sentido a la "protección jurídica propia" del Rey tras abdicación |url=https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/jpd-no-ve-sentido-a-la-proteccion-juridica-propia-del-rey-tras-abdicacion_wP76vXKcL0MvGNO7PJIgo3/ |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=La Información |language=Spanish}} the law was approved and arrived in time for the paternity lawsuits by Albert Solà{{cite web |last1=Amil |first1=Gema |date=16 October 2022 |title=Las confesiones de Albert Solà, el supuesto hijo ilegítimo del rey Juan Carlos, sobre su infancia antes de morir |url=https://www.lecturas.com/actualidad/confesiones-albert-sola-supuesto-hijo-ilegitimo-rey-juan-carlos-sobre-su-infancia-antes-morir_128957 |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=Lecturas |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |author1=Casey, Nicholas |author2=Bautista, José |date=25 June 2021 |title=Humble Waiter or Son of a King? A Royal Mystery Piques Spain. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/world/europe/king-juan-carlos-spain-pretender-sola.html |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=The New York Times}} and Ingrid Sartiau{{cite web |last1=Amil |first1=Gema |date=16 October 2022 |title=El duro testimonio de Ingrid Sartiau, la mujer que asegura ser hija ilegítima del rey emérito Juan Carlos |url=https://www.lecturas.com/actualidad/duro-testimonio-ingrid-sartiau-mujer-que-asegura-ser-hija-ilegitima-rey-emerito-juan-carlos_128956 |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=Lecturas |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |last1=Navarro |first1=Jennifer |date=8 January 2018 |title=Juan Carlos I keeps his head down: a new paternity request arrives |url=https://www.elnacional.cat/en/news/juan-carlos-i-daughter-paternity-request_227439_102.html |access-date=23 February 2024 |website=El Nacional.cat}}—which had been filed in various ordinary Spanish courts a while back—to be shelved definitively.

This same legal instrument would henceforth also protect the two queens, Sofía and Letizia, and the heiress, the Princess of Asturias.{{cite web |date=27 June 2014 |title=El Congreso aprueba el aforamiento del Rey Juan Carlos |url=https://www.hola.com/realeza/casa_espanola/2014062772178/congreso-aprueba-aformamiento-rey-juan-carlos/ |access-date=22 February 2024 |website=¡Hola! |language=Spanish}}

As an immediate reaction to the abdication message, there were numerous public demonstrations in several Spanish cities in favor of a consultation of the Spanish people on their preferred model of State.{{cite web |author1=Piñol, Àngels |author2=González Moreno, Jesús-Sérvulo |title=Thousands rally in favor of a republic |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/03/inenglish/1401786766_814927.html |website=El País |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=3 June 2014}} Political party Podemos, which had just had remarkable success in the European Parliament elections, issued a communiqué calling for a referendum to decide on the model of State, a pact that would definitively recognize Spaniards "as citizens and not as subjects." In addition to Podemos, other republican-leaning political parties, such as United Left and EQUO, publicly called for the convening of a referendum. Along the same lines, some internal currents of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, such as {{ill|Socialist Left (PSOE)|lt=Socialist Left|es|Izquierda Socialista (PSOE)}}, took the same position.{{cite web |last1=Kassam |first1=Ashifa |title=Juan Carlos abdication sparks calls for referendum on Spain's monarchy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/02/king-juan-carlos-spain-protests-referendum-monarchy |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=2 June 2014|url-access=subscription}}

Also on that day, those same political parties, as well as social movements opposed to the monarchy, called on rallies in dozens of Spanish cities to demand a constituent process.{{cite web |last1=Olmo |first1=J.M. |title=Lara anuncia un "frente" por la república entre gritos de "¡Borbones a los tiburones!" |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2014-06-02/la-izquierda-y-el-15-m-convocan-manifestaciones-a-favor-de-la-republica_140032/ |website=El Confidencial |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} All of them took place "without incident" and in a "festive atmosphere", according to El Mundo.{{cite web |author1=Vera, Joaquín |author2=Álvarez, Rafael J. |author3=Alsedo, Quico |title=Decenas de miles de voces republicanas en las plazas |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/06/02/538c4ad622601daa258b4570.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=27 June 2014}} Those in attendance waved the tricolor flag and chanted slogans such as España, mañana, será republicana (Spain, tomorrow, will be republican), Felipe, querido, nadie te ha elegido (Felipe, dear, nobody elected you), or Los borbones, a las elecciones (The Bourbons, to the elections) (and, also, Los borbones, a los tiburones [The Bourbons, to the sharks]). They demanded "a real transition without a king."{{cite web |last1=Villalba |first1=Enrique |title=Convocan manifestaciones por la república y varios partidos piden un referéndum |url=https://www.madridiario.es/noticia/412186/politica/convocan-manifestaciones-por-la-republica-y-varios-partidos-piden-un-referendum.html |website=Madridiario |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}

File:Madrid - Manifestación republicana - 140602 210231-2.jpg

The republican demonstration in Madrid, which took place in the Puerta del Sol, gathered between 10,000 and 20,000 people, according to El País. Around 5,000 people gathered at the Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona. Republican Left of Catalonia, one of the organizing parties, called on all Catalans in favor of an independent Catalan Republic to go out to the squares of their respective town halls and support the secession.{{cite web |title=ERC responde a la abdicación del Rey con una convocatoria de esteladas |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20140602/54408594577/erc-responde-abdicacion-rey-convocatoria-esteladas.html |website=La Vanguardia |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014|url-access=subscription}} Valencia and Alicante were also the scene of demonstrations.{{cite web |title=Una manifestación por la III República recorre las calles de Alicante |url=https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/valencia/20140602/54409562950/una-manifestacion-por-la-iii-republica-recorre-las-calles-de-alicante.html |website=La Vanguardia |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014|url-access=subscription}}

In Galicia, rallies took place in several cities, called, among others, by the Galician Nationalist Bloc and Nós–Unidade Popular, both in favor of Galician independence.{{cite web |title=Rodean el Parlamento gallego para pedir una República |url=https://www.lasexta.com/noticias/nacional/rodean-parlamento-gallego-pedir-republica_2014060757265b854beb28d44602024e.html |website=La Sexta |date=7 June 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish}} The largest of these rallies was in Vigo.{{cite web |last1=Paniagua |first1=Ángel |title=Manifestación en Vigo: entre independencia y república |url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/vigo/2014/06/02/manifestacion-vigo-independencia-republica/0003_2014061401732729710147.htm |website=La Voz de Galicia |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} During the demonstrations, there were flags and chants in favor of an independent Galician Republic.{{cite web |title=Miles de personas salen a la calle en Galicia en favor de "un referéndum ya" y también por la "República gallega" |url=http://noticias.lainformacion.com/politica/sistemas-politicos/miles-de-personas-salen-a-la-calle-en-galicia-en-favor-de-un-referendum-ya-y-tambien-por-la-republica-gallega_1PZatwD41Z7JjQHr88xKy3/ |website=La Información |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714190328/http://noticias.lainformacion.com/politica/sistemas-politicos/miles-de-personas-salen-a-la-calle-en-galicia-en-favor-de-un-referendum-ya-y-tambien-por-la-republica-gallega_1PZatwD41Z7JjQHr88xKy3/ |archive-date=14 July 2014 |date=2 June 2014}} A rally was also held in Zaragoza, with close to 2,000 people in attendance.{{cite web |title=Miles de ciudadanos salen a la calle para exigir un referéndum sobre la Monarquía |url=https://www.lasexta.com/noticias/nacional/miles-personas-salen-calle-exigir-referendum_20140602572660936584a81fd8840224.html |website=La Sexta |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} In Andalusia, the main demonstrations took place in Seville and Granada.{{cite web |title=Tarde republicana en las principales capitales andaluzas |url=https://www.elmundo.es/andalucia/2014/06/02/538cd22fca474147798b4571.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} The constitutional flag in the square was replaced by a republican flag in this latter city.{{cite web |last1=Fuentes |first1=Ana C. |title=Granada iza la bandera de la República |url=https://granadaimedia.com/manifestacion-republicana-en-la-plaza-del-carmen/ |website=Granadaimedia |date=2 June 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish}} In total, more than 60 rallies were held throughout the national territory.

On Saturday, 7 June, demonstrations were held once again in more than 40 Spanish cities. This time, attendance was much lower.{{cite web |title=Manifestaciones en varias ciudades españolas piden un referéndum sobre la Monarquía |url=https://www.abc.es/espana/20140607/abci-manifestacion-republica-espana-201406072011.html |website=ABC.es |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=7 June 2014|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |title=Miles de personas salen a la calle a favor de la República y el derecho a decidir |url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/espana/2014/06/07/miles-personas-salen-calle-favor-republica-derecho-decidir/00031402167342952723718.htm |website=La Voz de Galicia |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=7 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Vera |first1=Joaquín |title=Miles de ciudadanos piden una consulta sobre la república |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/06/07/5392bf07268e3e02678b456d.html |website=El Mundo |date=7 June 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish}}

Outside Spain, demonstrations were held in other European capitals such as Paris and Brussels, and the press echoed the situation in Spain.{{cite web |last1=Schlanger |first1=Zoë |title=Protests Erupt Calling for Referendum on Existence of the Spanish Monarchy |url=https://www.newsweek.com/protests-erupt-spanish-cities-calling-referendum-existence-monarchy-253153 |website=Newsweek |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=2 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Quinn |first1=Ben |title=Spaniards in London echo calls for referendum on monarchy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/03/rally-at-spanish-embassy-in-london-calls-for-monarchy-referendum |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=3 June 2014|url-access=subscription}}{{cite web |title=Anti-monarchy protests persist in Spain |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2014/6/8/anti-monarchy-protests-persist-in-spain |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=8 June 2014}} Thus, The New York Times reported on the petition that a Spanish broker living in London, Helena Fernández de Bobadilla, had made through a signature collection platform. The question sought to determine whether Spaniards wanted "another king" or "no king".{{cite web |last1=Minder |first1=Raphael |title=New King or, Spaniards Ask, Is It Time for No King? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/world/europe/spain-abdication.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=3 June 2014}}

Supporters of the monarchy as a model of state also called for demonstrations to be held on 6 June in various parts of Spain, such as Madrid and Seville.{{cite web |last1=Sáiz-Pardo |first1=Melchor |title=Republicanos y monárquicos llaman a salir a la calle antes de la proclamación de Felipe VI |url=https://www.elcomercio.es/politica/201406/05/convocadas-manifestaciones-sabado-para-20140605124557-rc.html?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.elcomercio.es%2Fpolitica%2F201406%2F05%2Fconvocadas-manifestaciones-sabado-para-20140605124557-rc.html |website=El Comercio |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=5 June 2014}}{{cite web |title=Los monárquicos convocan manifestaciones para el viernes en varias ciudades |url=http://www.lavozlibre.com/noticias/ampliar/930670/los-monarquicos-convocan-manifestaciones-para-el-viernes-en-varias-ciudades |website=La Voz Libre |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607003806/http://www.lavozlibre.com/noticias/ampliar/930670/los-monarquicos-convocan-manifestaciones-para-el-viernes-en-varias-ciudades |archive-date=7 June 2014 |language=Spanish |date=5 June 2014}} The latter gathered around 200 people.{{cite web |title=La Plaza Nueva, escenario de dos manifestaciones simultáneas a favor y en contra de la Monarquía |url=https://www.elmundo.es/andalucia/2014/06/06/5392172bca4741494f8b4599.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=6 June 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Ansón |first1=Luis María |title=Manifestación en apoyo a la Monarquía: "Es un orgullo ser español" |url=https://www.elimparcial.es/noticia/138437/nacional/manifestacion-en-apoyo-a-la-monarquia-es-un-orgullo-ser-espanol |website=El Imparcial |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=30 June 2014}}

One hour after the announcement, the abdication occupied the top ten trending topics in Spain on social network Twitter.{{cite web |title=#ElReyAbdica corona las redes |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/06/02/538c5523ca4741032b8b468b.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}} Hashtags such as #ElReyAbdica (The King abdicates), #VivaElRey (Long live the King), #FelipeVI, #ReyFelipeVI (King Felipe VI), #JuanCarlos, #ElRey (The King), #Borbones, or #IIIRepública (Third Republic) were at the top of the list.{{cite web |title=Felipe VI, Leti y III República, entre las principales tendencias de twitter |url=http://www.efefuturo.com/noticia/felipe-vi-leti-y-iii-republica-entre-las-principales-tendencias-de-twitter/ |website=EFE Futuro |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607012335/http://www.efefuturo.com/noticia/felipe-vi-leti-y-iii-republica-entre-las-principales-tendencias-de-twitter/ |archive-date=7 June 2014 |language=Spanish |date=2 June 2014}}

Several cartoonists from satirical magazine El Jueves resigned after accusing magazine owner {{ill|Grupo RBA|es}} of self-censorship. According to the cartoonists, the magazine's publisher refused both to illustrate the cover with drawings of the Royal Household and to mention topics related to the monarchy. They accused the company of destroying 60,000 copies that had already been printed with a cover referring to the abdication to replace them with others with a different subject matter. Official sources of the magazine denied this accusation, stating literally that the published cover "was the one planned and on Monday an attempt was made to change it," and that "it was not possible due to time, because we could not wait any longer and we had to go to print," claiming that "we have not been taken hostage and the matter of the abdication is mentioned on the inside pages," and specifying that the publication of the magazine had even been delayed "because new pages had been added on the abdication."{{cite web |title=Dibujantes de El Jueves se despiden tras la censura de la portada sobre el rey |url=https://www.eldiario.es/rastreador/dibujantes-jueves-despiden-censura-portada_132_4835594.html |website=El Diario |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=6 June 2014}}{{cite web |author1=Piña, Raúl |author2=Fernández, Eduardo |title=Censuran una portada de 'El Jueves' con el Rey y el Príncipe Felipe |url=https://www.elmundo.es/television/2014/06/05/5390992e22601d9f7a8b457a.html |website=El Mundo |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish}}{{cite web |last1=Riveiro |first1=Aitor |title=El Jueves retira 60.000 ejemplares con una portada sobre la abdicación del rey |url=https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/jueves-retira-ejemplares-portada-abdicacion_1_4840738.html |website=El Diario |date=5 June 2014 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish}} On 18 June, the day before Felipe VI's proclamation, these cartoonists published a special digital comic on the occasion called {{ill|Orgullo y satisfacción|es}}.{{cite web |title=Los humoristas que dejaron 'El Jueves' lanzan el cómic 'Orgullo y satisfacción' |url=https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20140616/humoristas-dejaron-jueves-lanzan-comic-orgullo-satisfaccion/956440.shtml |website=RTVE |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=16 June 2014}}

Meanwhile, a poll conducted by polling company Metroscopia for newspaper El País revealed that, although Prince Felipe de Borbón enjoys a higher approval rating than King Juan Carlos, having obtained a score of 7.3 out of 10, most Spaniards (62%) wish that at some point a consultation is called on to decide on the form of state. The same poll revealed that the majority of those interviewed, almost 50%, would be in favor of the continuity of the monarchy embodied in Felipe VI, as opposed to 36% who would be against it.{{cite web |last1=Garea |first1=Fernando |title=Majority of Spaniards want chance to vote on king or republic |url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2014/06/09/inenglish/1402304243_596627.html |website=El País |access-date=23 February 2024 |date=9 June 2014}}

Another poll carried out by La Sexta revealed that 53.1% of Spaniards are in favor of the continuity of the monarchy, compared to 36% who are in favor of the republic. Likewise, 63.1% are in favor of Prince Felipe inheriting the crown, compared to 32% who are against.{{cite web |last1=Uriel |first1=Mónica |title=Un 53% españoles prefieren la monarquía |url=http://www.ansa.it/ansalatina/notizie/rubriche/mundo/20140606165935677702.html |website=Ansalatina.com |access-date=23 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607223216/http://www.ansa.it/ansalatina/notizie/rubriche/mundo/20140606165935677702.html |archive-date=7 June 2014 |language=Spanish}} A poll carried out by newspaper El Mundo shows that the abdication has improved the Crown's image, going from 49.9% of support to 55.7% in favor of the continuity of the monarchical institution. Likewise, the poll shows an increased support of the Crown among the voters of the various political parties: going from 77.7% to 80.3% among People's Party voters, from 45.2% to 52.7% among PSOE voters, and from 14.1% to 22.6% among United Left voters.{{cite web |last1=Cruz |first1=Marisa |title=La Corona gana apoyo y el 73% cree que Felipe VI será buen Rey |url=https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2014/06/09/5394c89b22601def6f8b4584.html |website=El Mundo |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 June 2014}}

A poll conducted by TNS Demoscopia for Antena 3 reveals that two out of three citizens believe that the abdication has taken place at an opportune moment, and 60% support the proclamation of Prince Felipe as the new king.{{cite web |title=Unas 2.000 personas piden en Madrid un referéndum sobre la monarquía |url=https://www.antena3.com/noticias/espana/2000-personas-piden-madrid-referendum-monarquia_201406075722e6404beb28d446ff8a88.html |website=Antena 3 |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=7 June 2014}}

Spaniards, like those closest to King Juan Carlos, overwhelmingly considered that his decision to abdicate the Crown was already convenient. Moreover, 76% and raising their degree of support for the monarchy (56%) recognized it as their preferred form of state for Spain. In fact, in a referendum, this option would have won by 20 points over the republican one. Since then, in any case, support for the monarchy has not stopped falling steadily, with some polls showing greater support for the republican cause than for the monarchic one, starting on 2020.{{cite web |last1=Bayo |first1=Carlos Enrique |title=Los españoles prefieren república a monarquía por una mayoría absoluta |url=https://www.publico.es/politica/sondeo-espanoles-prefieren-republica-monarquia-mayoria-absoluta.html |website=Público |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=6 May 2020}}{{cite web |title=Un 40,9% de la población votaría por la República y un 34,9% a favor de la monarquía en caso de referéndum |url=https://www.elsaltodiario.com/encuesta-monarquia/40-por-ciento-poblacion-votaria-a-favor-republica-caso-referendum-encuesta-medios-independientes |website=El Salto |language=Spanish |date=12 October 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Romero |first1=Alexis |title=Un 39,4% de los españoles votaría por la república en un referéndum frente a un 31% que apoyaría la monarquía |url=https://www.publico.es/politica/encuesta-monarquia-39-4-espanoles-apoyaria-republica-referendum-frente-31-apoyaria-monarquia.html |website=Público |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=12 October 2021}}{{cite web |title=La República (51,7%) adelanta a la Monarquía (44,3%) como Jefatura de Estado preferida en la encuesta de febrero de Electomanía |url=https://www.tercerainformacion.es/articulo/actualidad/09/02/2022/la-republica-517-adelanta-a-la-monarquia-443-como-jefatura-de-estado-preferida-en-la-encuesta-de-febrero-de-electomania/ |website=Tercera Información |access-date=23 February 2024 |language=Spanish |date=9 February 2022}}

• Juan Carlos I
• Reign of Juan Carlos I
• Felipe VI
• Monarchy of Spain
• Succession to the Spanish throne

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• [http://www.casareal.es/ES/FamiliaReal/rey/Paginas/rey_biografia.aspx Official website of the Spanish Royal Family]
• [http://www.casareal.es/ES/Actividades/Paginas/actividades_actividades_detalle.aspx?data=12019 Full text of the King's broadcast regarding his abdication]
• [http://boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2014-6476 Organic Law approving Juan Carlos I's abdication, published in the Boletin Oficial del Estado]

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| video1 = {{YouTube|id=jLEtN5yeN6M|title=Message from His Majesty King Juan Carlos I to the Spanish people}}

| video2 = {{YouTube|id=KmGYEF9A8K8#t=8m35s|title=Abdication ceremony of His Majesty King Juan Carlos I}}

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Category:Juan Carlos I

Category:Abdication

Category:2014 in Spain