King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, Current Events Part 21: May 2011 - April 2012

[Warren]

...Sorry, but do the Spanish royal family have an issue with firearms in general?...if I recall he was rather close to late King Zog of Albania who was suspected and accused of firearms smuggling whilst living in Spain...

A quick correction for the record but it was the late King Leka; King Zog was his father.

 

[Madame Royale]

Funny that. I inititally stated it as being King Leka, but second guessed myself for some reason and changed it.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Juan Carlos's expensive trip to Botswana – from which he was flown home injured – arouses anger in recession-hit country. Shoots with Rann Safaris up to (£5,500) a week, with an elephant costing a further $15,000 to kill. A day out with professional hunter Jeff Rann, pictured with the king, costs a further $2,000.
http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/248/6443/original.jpg
Spain's King Juan Carlos under fire over elephant hunting trip | World news | guardian.co.uk

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/8236...links/rss/home_uk/feed//product#axzz1s7Rq4oLv

 

[Breffney]

Elpulso has a rather nasty article. It says that the queen left to Greece although her grandson is in the hospital, she left her daughter alone with a former husband with whom they are not in a good speaking terms.
The article also tells about Corinna and that maybe the queen has had it enough.
Y la Reina dio la "espantá" | ElPulso.es
Google translation

I don't blame Sofia for heading to Greece. Her grandson isn't in daughter. Her daughter is an adult and doesn't need her mother to hold her hand.

From what I can gather Sofia has had pretty much a dog's life at the hands of Juan Carlos. Poor lady. Was it really worth it for her to stick with him. ?
Prior to joining this forum I had great respect for Juan Carlos. Now, having learned so many negative things about him !!!! .....

 

[marymaxima]

Google Translate

Thank you very much!!!

 

[EIIR]

A few weeks ago Juan Carlos said that youth unemployment keeps him awake at night (and then promptly fell asleep). Obviously it's not bothering him so much as to make him question the rights and wrongs of dropping upwards of $60k to hire a private jet to take him and his wealthy chums to Africa to shoot elephants. Not to mention the cost to the taxpayer of having 3 bodyguards with him. Just so stupid.

I think the fact that Sofia chose not to come back immediately is very telling with regards to the state of their relationship. The problem the SRF have is that the Spanish media seem much less inclined to paper over the cracks for the Borbons.

This may sound cold, but I suspect we'll see a bit more of Leonor and little Sofia to try and garner a bit of goodwill for the family.

 

[Breffney]

This may sound cold, but I suspect we'll see a bit more of Leonor and little Sofia to try and garner a bit of goodwill for the family.

It doesn't sound cold at all, EIIR.

I'm sure that the PR machine is working overtime even as we speak.

 

[Smush]

Hearing about his trip to Africa to shoot elephants and all the criticism I really have to laugh.
Talking about animal protection and having bullfightings all the time

 

[Artemisia]

They don't have bullfighting all the time. Bullfighting has been banned in most of Spain.
While there may be certain hypocrisy connected with animal protection, there are boundaries that should not be crossed.
Killing animals for fun, especially without giving them a running chance - that's just vile; such activities should not be tolerated in the 21st century.

 

[tommy100]

Well I think we can safely say 2012 is going to be one of the worst ever years for the SRF with all of them apart from the Queen and f&l under fire for something. I think the idea of shooting elephants is deplorable but that's up to the king in a way to decide however flying off and spending thousands when his country is close to financial breaking point is a betrayal of his courty and it's people. IMO the king cares for no one but himself ATM, he isn't thinking about his people at all.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Has the Queen come back from Greece yet? I know one poster said she didn't come back immediately, but I was wondering if she's returned by now.

 

[LadyFinn]

Has the Queen come back from Greece yet? I know one poster said she didn't come back immediately, but I was wondering if she's returned by now.

It was said at the media yesterday that the queen didn´t change her plans, she will return to Madrid on Monday. There hasn´t been nothing new about this today.

 

[Artemisia]

No, the Queen hasn't returned yet. Queen Sofia will be back on Monday, as she had originally planned.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Thank you, ladies; she must be in high dudgeon indeed not to have flown back immediately for the King's surgery, IMO.

 

[Artemisia]

I have a distinct feeling that the Queen's decision not to come back immediately for her husband's operation is a sign that even the ever-patient and smiling Sofia has had enough.

 

[tommy100]

Had he not fallen in his logde, it would never have become public knowledge.
Had Froilan not shot himself in the foot, it would never have become public knowlegde that he is handling weapons as a minor. And I am not even mentioning Inaki.

In public the SRF usually sports the modest, prudent and clean image. Only some little details going wrong expose them as not being better than anyone else, rather the opposite. In all those years back, either the media turned a blind eye out of respect or the political / social climate wasnt responding to such a thing (eg F&L got "caught" only because of security issues at Miami airport in 2004 prior to their wedding, when they went partying on the Bahamas after calling off all pre-wedding festivities in Madrid due to the bombings. It did make a few headlines back then but would be a much bigger issue today). Ignoring the fact that both saving issues have changed since speaks volumes about the state of mind of the SRF members.

The Head of State of a country like Spain going off shooting elephants in times like these is beyond all imagination. Its nothing that can be explained or be justified in any way, no matter what kind of PR people you have employed.

King Juan Carlos of Spain operated on after 'elephant hunting' accident. - Telegraph
Bad headlines everywhere
It was not the king's first hunting controversy. In 2006 there were reports that while on holiday in Russia he had shot and killed a performing bear called Mitrofan which had first been fed honey mixed with vodka.

I think the Royal Family will find that now the media will be less and less favorable to helping "hide" any such activities in the future. I've always thought that the Royals get away with a lot from the media (not reporting the King's mistresses etc) but that will change now as the media have seen what goes on in private. The Royal Family will have to pull up their socks and keep their noses clean from now on.

 

[NGalitzine]

Shouldn't an individuals private life, including mistresses, remain private? The public gains nothing by this knowledge and it has nothing to do with the Kings ability to carry out his official duties. If he indeed has a mistress it concerns only himself, his wife and the other woman.
Does the Spanish press carry on about the private lives of elected officials, the same was as the tabloid press in the US & UK do.

 

[tommy100]

Yes they should all get a degree of privacy but if you are the King of Spain (or any country) and are travelling with publicly funded staff that privacy gets less and less. IF you then decided to go on a hunting trip costing tens of thousand while your country goes bankrupt your asking for your private life to become public as the media will feel they have the right to comment, through in hunting and killing endangered animals and I think anyone would argue there can't be a right to privacy in this case.
And now this has come out the media will be wondering what else the Royal Family are hiding.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Shouldn't an individuals private life, including mistresses, remain private? The public gains nothing by this knowledge and it has nothing to do with the Kings ability to carry out his official duties. If he indeed has a mistress it concerns only himself, his wife and the other woman.
Does the Spanish press carry on about the private lives of elected officials, the same was as the tabloid press in the US & UK do.

Privacy is fine - this case is not about mistresses, who cares, but public funds transporting the King and his entrourage that is funded by public money to a holiday trip that is highly questionable on ethical and moral grounds.

What country, that has been linked to financial collapse, with the highest unemployment rate in Europe, can afford a Head of State, the highest representative and moral authority of the country, who travels to Botswana over the weekend to shoot elephants?

Of course Spaniards have the right to know about inappropriate behaviour, no matter if this was labelled private or not. Inappropriate behaviour has caused other Heads of State to resign or forced to leave, look at Germany or Italy, because of actions that were labelled "private" but the public did not consider appropriate and finally got rid of those representatives.

 

[Al_bina]

Spanish King Juan Carlos Elephant-Hunting Trip Causes Outrage, Injures Hip In Botswana And Requires Surgery

 

[Baroness of Books]

I never knew that Juan-Carlos accidentally shot and killed his brother. If his brother was 14 at the time, what was his age? What a tragedy, especially when these siblings were so young; I'm really surprised he could pick up a firearm after that. And his grandson at 13 is illegally handling firearms; does this family want another tragedy to unfold? Thank you for the article, Al bina.

 

[Artemisia]

I never knew that Juan-Carlos accidentally shot and killed his brother. If his brother was 14 at the time, what was his age?

The incident took place in March of 1956, meaning Juan Carlos was 18 at the time.

There have always been conflicting accounts of the Infante's death. Initially, there was no word of the elder brother's involvement; the Spanish Embassy issued an official statement according to which Alfonso died in a shooting accident while cleaning a revolver. Later, conflicting accounts appeared, the most widespread version is that the gun was held by Juan Carlos when the shot was ired.
- According to Josefina Carolo (dressmaker for the Countess of Barcelona), Juan Carlos pointed the gun at Alfonso and fired, unaware that it was loaded.
- Helena Matheopoulos (an author who personally spoke to Infanta Pilar) said that Alfonso was not in the room when Juan Carlos was holding the gun. Supposedly, Alfonso pushed open the door, knocking Juan Carlos in the arm, which resulted in him accidentally firing the pistol.
- Bernardo Arnoso (a friend of Juan Carlos) confirmed that it was Juan Carlos who pulled the trigger unaware the pistol was loaded. He added that the bullet ricocheted off the wall, hitting Alfonso in the face.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Such mixed accounts give an aura of scandal and coverup, IMO. This is such a horrible tale and to cause the death of one's sibling is not a light burden to carry. It's with mixed feelings that I thank you for the explanation, Artemisia.

 

[Artemisia]

There is a thread dedicated to the unfortunate event - Tragedy of the death of Juan Carlos' brother Alfonso.
You'll probably find a lot more detailed information there.

 

[Baroness of Books]

Thank you; I've never concentrated on the Spanish royals but now all these recent events and this past history have piqued my interest. I'm heading to that thread now.

 

[EIIR]

Wasn't this 'mistress' considered a "representative" of the King of Spain when she was in Saudi Arabia in 2007?

Also according to this newspaper, in April 2006, Princess Corina accompanied the King and a Spanish delegation to Saudi Arabia in an official state visit as Strategic Adviser Delegation.

Corinna fue recibida como

If there's any truth in this whatsoever, then it very much is the business of the Spanish people.

 

[CarolynHarris]

The recent hunting accidents in the Spanish royal family and the history of hunting as a royal pastime

King Juan Carlos of Spain and the History of Royalty on the Hunt | Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Wasn't this 'mistress' considered a "representative" of the King of Spain when she was in Saudi Arabia in 2007?

Corinna fue recibida como

If there's any truth in this whatsoever, then it very much is the business of the Spanish people.

I have no idea if she has business interests in Spain but the Arab Countries have close ties to Spain, JC has been the key to many mult-billion business deals eg on infrastructure for Spanish companies. Saudi money has always been important for JC personally, they are close allies and helped to keep the transition into democracy going, and for Spanish business. For that reason alone nobody will ask questions I guess. Sofia will have some decent saudi jewellery gifts in her box.

By the way, the trip to Saudi Arabia was in 2006 and Sofia was present too. Same goes for a trip to Qatar in the same year, JC travelled in official capacity with Sofia & Corinna was part of the delegation as far as I can recall.

 

[NotHRH]

The recent hunting accidents in the Spanish royal family and the history of hunting as a royal pastime

King Juan Carlos of Spain and the History of Royalty on the Hunt | Carolyn Harris: Royal Historian

IMO, I think many royals' arrogance shows in their love of hunting. Just sayin'.

 

[NGalitzine]

IMO, I think many royals' arrogance shows in their love of hunting. Just sayin'.

Do you feel this way about all hunters or just those who happen to be royal.