Albert Solà
{{Short description|Spanish waiter (1956–2022)}}
File:Albert_Solà.jpg's ¿Quién es mi padre? ("Who is my Father?"). The episode was broadcast posthumously on 15 October 2022.]]
Albert Solà i Jiménez (1956 – 8 October 2022) was a Spanish man who claimed to be the illegitimate son of King Juan Carlos I.
Born in Barcelona and adopted in the Province of Girona, also in Catalonia, Solà said that he was told by a judge that he was the king's son; the judge in question denied this. In 2012, he took a DNA test with Belgian fellow claimant Ingrid Sartiau that showed 91% similarity between them, but did not include a sample from the king. After Juan Carlos I abdicated in 2014, the pair sued him in the Supreme Court of Spain, with Solà's suit being dismissed.
Solà worked as a waiter in La Bisbal d'Empordà and wrote an autobiography in 2019. He died suddenly in 2022, aged 66.
Biography
Solà was born in Barcelona as Alberto Fernando Augusto Bach Ramón. During his childhood, many children were taken from unwed mothers by the authorities of Francoist Spain. Shortly after his birth, he was given to a farming family in Ibiza. According to the daughter of these foster parents, they were paid twice the usual amount. Solà said that he returned to Barcelona in 1961 to live in a large mansion, and was adopted aged 8 by Salvador Solà, a farmer in the Province of Girona.{{cite news |last1=Casey |first1=Nicholas |last2=Bautista |first2=José |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=16 September 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=25 June 2021}}
Solà said that he received an expensive car and motorcycle with no explanation after he learned to drive, and that he was given preferential treatment during his military service. He said that in 1982, an office director would not show him his adoption records, but referred to the case as being "the most complex". According to Solà, he went to court to see his adoption records and was told by the judge that he was the son of King Juan Carlos I; judge Jorge Maza denies this.
Solà first wrote to Juan Carlos I in 2007, referring to him as his father. After not receiving a personal reply, he continued to write, threatening that "Give me some answers and I will not bother you again".
Solà said that he had been approached by an intelligence agent who had seen a photograph of him as a child with Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the mother of Juan Carlos I. Solà said that he had memories of the woman in the photograph.
Solà worked as a waiter in La Bisbal d'Empordà. In 2019, he wrote an autobiography, El Monarca de La Bisbal.{{cite news |last1=Soler |first1=Albert |title=«El rei Joan Carles sempre m'ha protegit des de l'ombra»|trans-title="King Juan Carlos has always protected me from the shadows" |url=https://www.diaridegirona.cat/ultimes-noticies/2019/04/10/rei-joan-carles-sempre-m-48836545.html |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=Diari de Girona |date=10 April 2019 |language=Catalan}}
Paternity suit
In 2012, Solà and Belgian woman Ingrid Sartiau, who also claimed to be an illegitimate child of Juan Carlos I, took a DNA test administered by Belgian geneticist Jean-Jacques Cassiman. The test showed 91% similarity between their samples. The test did not use a sample from the king, nor did it prove that they were his children.{{cite news |title=La fille cachée du roi d'Espagne est belge !|trans-title=The hidden daughter of the king of Spain is Belgian!|url=https://www.dhnet.be/archives-journal/2012/06/14/la-fille-cachee-du-roi-despagne-est-belge-3XOHIDMRVNHKVILYPMIAP6NAKQ/ |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=La Dernière Heure |date=13 June 2012 |language=French}}
Juan Carlos I had legal immunity as head of state until he abdicated in June 2014. The Congress of Deputies, led by the People's Party, moved to extend immunity to former monarchs, excluding cases in the Supreme Court of Spain.{{cite news |title=Spain moves to protect Juan Carlos from paternity suits |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27947773 |access-date=16 September 2024 |publisher=BBC News |date=20 June 2014}} Solà's lawsuit was dismissed by that court in January 2015, while Sartiau's was heard.{{cite news |title=Former Spanish King Juan Carlos faces paternity suit |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-30811694 |access-date=16 September 2024 |publisher=BBC News |date=14 January 2015}} In March, the court dismissed Sartiau's case after the king emeritus appealed.{{cite news |last1=Kassam |first1=Ashifa |title=Spanish court dismisses paternity suit against former king Juan Carlos |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/11/spanish-court-dismisses-paternity-suit-against-former-king-juan-carlos |access-date=19 September 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=11 March 2015}}
Death
Solà died suddenly on 8 October 2022, aged 66. He had ordered a glass of wine at a bar in La Bisbal and was returning to his table when he collapsed.{{cite news |title=Muere de manera repentina Albert Solà, el supuesto hijo ilegítimo de Juan Carlos I, a los 66 años|trans-title=Albert Solà, alleged illegitimate son of Juan Carlos I, dies aged 66|url=https://www.elespanol.com/corazon/famosos/20221009/muere-repentina-albert-sola-ilegitimo-juan-carlos/709429093_0.html |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=El Español |date=9 October 2022 |language=Spanish}} The security camera had been moved by an employee before and after the death; the employee said that she did this regularly if she had argued with her husband, the owner.{{cite news |title=La explicación de la encargada que manipuló las cámaras del bar en el que cayó desplomado Albert Solà|trans-title=The explanation of the employee who moved the cameras in the bar in which Albert Solà collapsed|url=https://www.20minutos.es/television/la-explicacion-de-la-encargada-que-manipulo-las-camaras-del-bar-en-el-que-cayo-desplomado-albert-sola-5068981/ |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=20 minutos |date=16 October 2022 |language=Spanish}}{{cite news |title=La cámara del bar donde murió Albert Solà, presunto hijo ilegítimo del Rey Juan Carlos, fue manipulada |trans-title=The camera of the bar where Albert Solà, alleged illegitimate son of King Juan Carlos, died was moved|url=https://www.eleconomista.es/informalia/famosos/noticias/11991480/10/22/Crecen-las-sospechas-por-la-muerte-de-Albert-Sol-hijo-ilegitimo-del-rey-la-camara-de-seguridad-del-bar-fue-manipulada.html |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=El Economista |date=14 October 2022 |language=Spanish}}
Television channel Telecinco debuted a series ¿Quién es mi padre? ("Who is my Father?") on 8 October 2022, interviewing people who claim to be the illegitimate children of famous men. The channel did not pull the episode they had filmed with Solà, and broadcast it on 15 October.{{cite news |title=No hay cambio de planes: Albert Solà, el supuesto hijo del rey emérito, protagonista de '¿Quién es mi padre?' tras fallecer|trans-title=There is no change of plans: Albert Solà, alleged son of the king emeritus, start of '¿Quién es mi padre?' after dying |url=https://www.elconfidencial.com/television/programas-tv/2022-10-10/quien-es-mi-padre-carlota-corredera-albert-sola-entrevista_3504314/ |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=El Confidencial |date=10 October 2022 |language=Spanish}}
A local judge ordered an inquest into the death of Solà.{{cite news |last1=Carranco |first1=Rebeca |title=Un juzgado investiga la muerte de Albert Solà, el hombre que aseguraba ser hijo de Juan Carlos I|trans-title=A court investigates the death of Albert Solà, the man who claimed to be the son of Juan Carlos I |url=https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2022-10-10/un-juzgado-investiga-la-muerte-de-albert-sola-el-hombre-que-aseguraba-ser-hijo-del-rey-emerito.html |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=El País |date=10 October 2022 |language=Spanish}}
References
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Category:People from Barcelona