Juan Carlos King of Spain

When you read closer to the bottom you will see that they call him "The King of Jerusalem"

Juan Carlos I of Spain
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Juan Carlos I
King of Spain

Reign 22 November 1975 - Present
Coronation 27 November 1975
(Anointment Ceremony called:
Holy Spirit Mass)
Born January 5, 1938 (1938-01-05) (age 69)
Rome, Italy
Predecessor Francisco Franco (General, former dictator)
Consort Queen Sofía (Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark)
Issue Infanta Elena
Infanta Cristina
Felipe, Príncipe de Asturias
Royal House House of Bourbon
Father Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona
Mother Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

Spanish Royal Family

HM The King
HM The Queen
HRH The Prince of Asturias
HRH The Princess of Asturias
HRH Infanta Leonor
HRH Infanta Sofía
HRH The Duchess of Lugo
HE The Duke of Lugo
HE Don Felipe
HE Doña Victoria
HRH The Duchess of Palma de Mallorca
HE The Duke of Palma de Mallorca
HE Don Juan Valentín
HE Don Pablo Nicolás
HE Don Miguel
HE Doña Irene
HRH The Duchess of Badajoz
HRH The Duchess of Soria
HRH The Duke of Calabria

Styles of
King Juan Carlos I

Reference style His Majesty
Spoken style Your Majesty
Alternative style Sire

Juan Carlos I (baptized as Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; born January 5, 1938, Rome, Italy) is the reigning King of Spain.

On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated King according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. He successfully oversaw the transition of Spain to a democratic constitutional monarchy. Recent polls show that he is widely approved of by Spaniards.[1] Juan Carlos's titles include that of King of Jerusalem, as successor to the royal family of Naples. He is also a descendant of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom through his grandmother, Victoria Eugenie; of Louis XIV of France through the House of Bourbon; of the Emperor Charles V, who belonged to the Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire; of the House of Savoy of Italy; etc.

His name, while rarely anglicised, is rendered as John Charles Alphonse Victor Maria of Bourbon (and Bourbon-Two Sicilies). He was given these names after his father (Juan de Borbon), grandfather (Alfonso XIII) and maternal grandfather (Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies).

Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 'Prince of Spain', 1969-1975
3 Restoration of the monarchy
4 Role in contemporary Spanish politics
5 Family and private life
6 Titles
7 Other honours
8 Ancestors
8.1 Patrilineal descent
9 See also
10 External links
11 References
12 Footnotes

[edit] Early life
Born as son of H.R.H. Infante Don Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona (Conde de Barcelona ), son of Alfonso XIII of Spain, and Princess Maria Mercedes of Bourbon-Orleans. He has one older sibling, a sister, Infanta Pilar, and two younger ones, Infanta Margarita, and the late Infante Alfonso. He was baptized by Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII.

The future King's early life was dictated largely by the political concerns of his father and Franco. He moved to Spain in 1948 to be educated there after his father persuaded Franco to allow this. He began his studies in San Sebastián and finished them in 1954 at the San Isidro Institute in Madrid. He then joined the army, undergoing officer training from 1955-1957 in Zaragoza.

In 1956, when Juan Carlos was 18, he reportedly shot and killed his younger brother, Infante Alfonso, in a gunplay accident after returning home from Mass. This event occurred in the family residence in Estoril, Portugal[2].

Starting in 1957, he spent a year in the naval school at Pontevedra and another in the air force school in San Javier in Murcia. In 1961, he graduated from the Complutense University, majoring in Political and International Law, Economics and Public Administration. He then went to live in the Zarzuela Palace, and began carrying out official duties.

[edit] 'Prince of Spain', 1969-1975

The Standard of the King of SpainThe regime of Francisco Franco had come to power during the Spanish Civil War, which had pitted republicans, anarchists, socialists, and Communists against conservatives, monarchists, and fascists, with the latter group ultimately emerging successful. Despite his alliance with monarchists, Franco was not eager to restore the deposed Spanish monarchy once in power, preferring to head a regime with himself as head of state for life. Though Franco's partisan supporters generally accepted this arrangement for the present, much debate quickly ensued over who would replace Franco when he died. Monarchist factions demanded the return of a hard-line absolute monarchy, and eventually Franco agreed that his successor would be a monarch.

The heir to the throne of Spain was Juan de Borbón (Count of Barcelona), the son of the late Alfonso XIII. However, Franco viewed the heir with extreme suspicion, believing him to be a liberal who was opposed to his regime. Franco then considered giving the throne to Juan Carlos's cousin (and proven Francoist) Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, who had married Franco's granddaughter in 1972. In response, Juan Carlos started to use his second name Carlos to assert his claim to the heritage of the Carlist branch of his family.

Ultimately, Franco decided to skip a generation and name Prince Juan Carlos as his personal successor. Franco hoped the young Prince could be groomed to take over the nation while still maintaining the ultra-conservative nature of his regime. In 1969, Juan Carlos was officially designated heir and was given the new title of Prince of Spain (not the traditional Prince of Asturias).

Juan Carlos met and consulted with Franco many times while heir apparent and often performed official and ceremonial state functions alongside the dictator, much to the anger of hard-line republicans and more moderate liberals, who had hoped that Franco's death would bring in an era of reform. During those years, Juan Carlos publicly supported Franco's regime. However, as the years progressed, Juan Carlos began meeting with political opposition leaders and exiles, who were fighting to bring liberal reform to the country. Franco, for his part, remained largely oblivious to the prince's actions and denied allegations that Juan Carlos was in any way disloyal to his vision of the regime.

During periods of Franco's temporary incapacity in 1974 and 1975 Juan Carlos was acting head of state. Near death, on 30 October 1975, Franco gave full control to Juan Carlos. On 22 November, following Franco's death, the Cortes Generales proclaimed Juan Carlos King of Spain and on November 27, Juan Carlos ascended the Spanish throne with an anointing ceremony called Holy Spirit Mass which was the equivalent to a coronation at the Jerónimos Church in Madrid.

[edit] Restoration of the monarchy