Exiled King Juan Carlos I Reflects on Spain, Scandals and a Longing for Home in Memoir 'Reconciliation'

Blending wide‑ranging historical recollections with frank admissions of personal regret, Spain's former king Juan Carlos I seeks to repair ties with his family and his country in a new memoir, Reconciliation, co‑written with French author Laurence Debray. Now 87, Juan Carlos revisits pivotal moments from Spain's transition to democracy across a 500‑page volume published in French and due in Spanish next month. Writing from self‑imposed exile in Abu Dhabi, he confronts both public controversies and private wounds.

Memories of Franco

Appointed by Francisco Franco to succeed him, Juan Carlos is widely credited with helping to steer Spain toward democracy after the dictator's death in 1975. He recalls sitting at Franco's bedside as the ailing leader took his hand and urged him to "keep the country united," a plea that Juan Carlos says gave him "a free hand to launch reforms, as long as Spain's unity was not endangered."

He also recounts the dramatic night in February 1981 when he put on his general's jacket and appeared on television to order rebellious soldiers back to their barracks after they stormed parliament — an act that helped defuse a coup attempt and is widely seen as one of the defining moments of his reign.

Scandals and Regrets

Juan Carlos addresses controversies that eroded public trust in his later years. He admits that the 2014 hunting trip to Botswana — when he broke his hip while traveling with his then‑mistress, Corinna Larsen — was seen as an unforgivable extravagance during Spain's economic crisis. "I cannot avoid referring to that matter, because it had an unfortunate impact on my reign and my fate," he writes, adding that he "bitterly" regrets the affair and the subsequent lawsuit by Larsen, which left him a "wounded man."

The former monarch also discusses a disputed payment from Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah, describing his acceptance of roughly $100 million as a "serious mistake." In the wake of revelations about the payment in 2020, Juan Carlos left Spain for the United Arab Emirates to avoid being a distraction for his son, King Felipe VI. He laments that his wife, Queen Sofia, has not joined him in Abu Dhabi, writing that he "bitterly regrets" their separation and suspects she avoids visiting to not "annoy her son."

Childhood Tragedy

The memoir delves into Juan Carlos's lonely upbringing: taken from his family's exile to Spain at age 10, he was raised under Franco's influence. He recalls the traumatic accident in 1956 when his younger brother Alfonso died after the two were "playing" with a pistol at the family home in Portugal. They had removed the magazine but did not realise a bullet remained in the chamber; the shot fired into the air ricocheted and struck Alfonso. Juan Carlos notes that the incident was never fully investigated and describes its long emotional impact.

Personal Confessions and a Desire to Return

Debray, who spent two years interviewing Juan Carlos in French while living in Abu Dhabi, says the book mixes "History with a capital 'H'" and intimate confession: "He says publicly that there are things he regrets." Throughout the memoir the ex‑king expresses nostalgia and a persistent wish to mend family ties, especially with his estranged son, King Felipe VI.

"There is not one day when I'm not overcome by nostalgia. It's like I've got Spain under my skin,"

Juan Carlos concludes the book by stating his hope to return to Spain and to be buried there with honours — a final gesture of reconciliation with the country whose transition he helped shape.