Spain: King Felipe appears to criticise exiled father in Christmas speech

The king has tried to distance himself from Juan Carlos

Credit: GETTY IMAGES

King Felipe of Spain used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to make a renewed call for his nation’s leaders to demonstrate exemplary behaviour, a message he delivered Thursday night amid a financial scandal centering on his father – the country’s previous monarch.

The king said in a televised address that citizens demand "principles that apply to everyone, without exception, and that are above any other considerations, including personal or family (bonds)."

The message was widely interpreted as a rebuke to the alleged financial improprieties that are threatening to tarnish the once immaculate reputation of his father, Juan Carlos.

Juan Carlos stunned his nation in August when he moved to the United Arab Emirates after it emerged that prosecutors in Spain and Switzerland were investigating him for possible financial wrongdoing.

His status as Spain’s former head of state means he is immune from prosecution for any offence committed during his 39-year reign.

Read more: A wife, a lover and a hunting scandal. How Spain’s King Juan Carlos fell from his throne

Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014

Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Nevertheless, Spain’s Supreme Court this year began investigating him after reports of a Swiss probe into the payment of tens of millions of euros in kickbacks from Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah in 2008.

The former king is also the target of another probe into the alleged use by him, former Queen Sofia and other members of the royal family, of credit cards linked to foreign accounts not in their names.

Earlier this month, his lawyer said Juan Carlos had paid tax authorities nearly €680,000 (about £611,000) following a voluntary declaration of previously undisclosed income.

Juan Carlos has not been charged with any crime, and his lawyers have said he would return to Spain immediately if required for legal reasons.

Felipe, who became king after his father’s abdication in 2014, has tried to distance himself from Juan Carlos.

In March, the Spanish monarch renounced any future personal inheritance he might receive from his father. He also stripped Juan Carlos of his annual stipend, which in 2018 was €194,232.

The scandal has encouraged some left-wing parties to revive calls to change Spain’s form of government from a constitutional monarchy to a republican state. The party of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, however, is firmly backing Felipe, along with the conservative opposition.

Read more: The King and I: My two weeks with Juan Carlos, Spain’s exiled caballero