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Date Published: 09/11/2022

ARCHIVED - Former king of Spain appeals in UK court over harassment charges

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Ex-king Juan Carlos is appealing a decision that ruled he has no royal immunity over abuse charges brought against him by his British former lover

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Former king of Spain appeals in UK court over harassment charges

Spain’s former king, 84-year-old Rey Juan Carlos I, has had a hearing in a UK court to appeal a decision that ruled he had no legal immunity over harassment claims brought by his ex-lover, a British resident.

The hearing in London comes as the king’s former mistress, German-born Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, made fresh allegations about his conduct in a podcast, accusing Juan Carlos of spying on her, harassing her after their relationship ended in 2012 and frequently carrying around “bags full of cash” during their relationship in a thinly veiled reference to his supposed dodgy dealings.

Juan Carlos, who lives in self-imposed exile from Spain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was not present himself at the hearing in London. The former king, who abdicated in 2014 and who denies any wrongdoing, is appealing against a UK High Court decision last March which ruled that he had no royal immunity after having stepped down from the throne.

High Court judge Matthew Nicklin said at the time, “Whatever special status the defendant retained under the law and constitution of Spain, he was no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’ so as to entitle him to personal immunity.”

His lawyers have challenged that decision, and a ruling is expected in several weeks’ time.

Juan Carlos was present at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London in September, where he was seen in public for the first time in two years with his estranged wife Queen Sofia and his son, King Felipe VI.

You may also like: How are the Spanish and UK Royal Families related? The curious story of the modern European monarchy

Image: Casa Real

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