Breathe
By Laura Perez Cisneros
"I am very sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again. affirmed a grieving King of Spain, when it was impossible to hide his accident in Botswana on April 14, 2012, in which he broke his hip and had to undergo emergency surgery, but more than that safari, with the photo of a dead elephant at a time when Spain was going through a serious economic crisis, Botswana marked the beginning of the fall of his reign, because later it became known that on that trip was his mistress the German aristocrat Corinna Larsen, this story was reduced in : "The king, the mistress, the excesses and his fall".
Yes, Juan Carlos de Borbón -the one of the transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy- became his worst enemy when he thought that as monarch he could have control of forbidden actions that have gone from cheating on the queen more than once and with several women, to receiving millionaire donations or doing business, because above duty, he was won by the thirst and adrenaline of the forbidden.
One of the worst crises in the Spanish royal family opened the door for Felipe de Borbón to take over as King 10 years ago and establish a before and after, by cleaning up the royal dump. Felipe VI established new rules, among them, renouncing his father's economic inheritance and taking away his father's 194,000 euro annual allowance (more than 4 million pesos).
In 2014 Felipe VI spoke of a renewed monarchy, now celebrating his tenth anniversary on the throne the Spanish monarch highlighted 3 axes in his reign: service, commitment and duty; and unlike his father he has taken his work as sovereign to good sea with a firmness and at the same time serenity: he shortened the royal family to him, his wife Queen consort Letizia and his daughters Crown Princess Leonor of Asturias and Infanta Sofia. He has presented clear accounts to the Spanish people, defended his country's democracy; 10 years later the sovereign has a 75% approval rating and is one of Spain's best cards to the world.
Meanwhile, the 86-year-old father is once again the subject of scandal after images of him with the vedette and actress Bárbara Rey were released, as well as compromising audios when they had an affair in the 90's. For her silence, the mistress of King Juan Carlos I received millionaire payments, money that has been reproached as coming from public spending.
What about Queen Sofia?
She has received the support of her son and the Spanish people and in something that is not usual, the emeritus queen will preside over three public acts in one week , the first of them was very eloquent as the Minister of Defense Margarita Robles during an event at the Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base addressed the Mother of Elena, Cristina and Felipe to tell her a simple "We are with you at this time " -because of the controversial audios of the emeritus and the vedette- and added. "I want to convey our respect, affection, and appreciation. We are proud of the work you have been doing for Spain for so many years. We are with you". It was a message from woman to woman, a message full of sorority towards the Queen Emeritus, here she applied what the President of Mexico said a few days ago, "I do not arrive alone, we all arrive" and this was the moment for a woman and Minister of Defense to publicly embrace 85 year old Sofia on behalf of the Spanish women, because despite the personal pain, The Greek-born queen has never ceased to demonstrate her commitment to the Spanish crown, while her husband -not in deeds- seeks to clear his name through the memoirs that will be released next year under the title "Reconciliation". With his son? With the Spanish people? Definitely... They are not fairy tales, they are true stories.
The opinions expressed are the responsibility of the authors and are absolutely independent of the position and editorial line of the company. Opinion 51.
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