King of Spain to Abdicate for Son, Prince Felipe

Spain’s King Juan Carlos is stepping down from the throne, clearing the way for his son Prince Felipe to take over.
 
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy made the abdication announcement Monday on national television.

The 76-year-old king, whose health is failing and has had  five operations in two years, including hip replacement surgery, is stepping down for personal reasons, Rajoy said.
 

A handout photo provided on June 2, 2014 shows Spain’s King Juan Carlos (L) hands over a letter of abdication to Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.A handout photo provided on June 2, 2014 shows Spain’s King Juan Carlos (L) hands over a letter of abdication to Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.

Abdication, succession

It was not immediately clear when the abdication will take place, allowing Felipe’s assumption of power.

Felipe, 46, has had an increasingly important role in ceremonial events in the past year.

Spain does not have a precise law regulating abdication and succession.

Rajoy said his cabinet would meet very soon to set out the steps for Prince Felipe to take over as Felipe VI.
 
The 76-year-old Juan Carlos oversaw his country’s transition from dictatorship to democracy, coming into power in 1975, just two days after the death of longtime dictator Francisco Franco. 

Far from being a mere ceremonial figurehead, Juan Carlos played a determining role in Spanish modern history when he stepped up as the first crowned head of state in 44 years after Franco’s death.

He defied the hopes of the Francoists for an extension of autocratic rule. Instead, he oversaw the creation of a new system of parliamentary monarchy, with a new constitution that was approved by referendum in 1978.

Juan Carlos was credited with helping defuse an attempted coup in February 1981 by soldiers who stormed into parliament shooting and who held lawmakers hostage for several hours.

The king’s appearance on television urging support for the democratic government was instrumental in blocking the attempt.
 
Family hurt by scandals

However, Juan Carlos’ popularity has been deeply eroded by scandals swirling around him and his family.
 
He went on a luxury elephant safari to Botswana in the middle of Spain’s financial crisis during which he broke his hip and had to be flown back to Spain for medical treatment aboard a private jet.

Further damaging the royal family’s standing, a judge opened a corruption investigation in 2010 centered on former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin, the husband of the king’s youngest daughter, Cristina, who has also been accused of involvement, according to the French news agency AFP.

Both deny any wrongdoing.

A judge in Palma de Mallorca is expected to decide soon whether to put Urdangarin on trial on charges of embezzling 6 million euros in public funds through his charity.

At the same time, Felipe’s approval rating has risen.

Sixty-two percent of Spaniards were in favor of the king stepping down, according to a January poll by Sigma Dos. That compared with 45 percent a year earlier. Only 41 percent of those polled had a good or very good opinion of the king.

Felipe has a positive rating of 66 percent and most  Spaniards believe the monarchy could recover its prestige if he took the throne, according to the poll.

Felipe wed former television presenter Letizia Ortiz, in a glittering ceremony in Madrid’s Almudena Cathedral in 2004 after several previous romantic dalliances, including one with a Norwegian lingerie model.

They have two daughters.
 
Ortiz, a 41-year-old divorcee, was the first commoner to come in line for the Spanish throne.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.
 

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