A new memoir by former King Juan Carlos has been published in Spain, titled “Reconciliation.”
In the book, the 87-year-old former monarch talks about his relationship with Francisco Franco (General Franco), the tragic death of his brother, and his own regrets.
He lavished praise on General Franco. “I had great respect for him, I appreciated his intelligence and political wisdom,” Juan Carlos wrote.
He recalled how Franco told him on his deathbed: “I only ask you one thing: keep the country united.”
Juan Carlos wrote that he felt abandoned, blaming his son, the current King Felipe VI, and his family. “I gave the Spanish freedom by establishing democracy, but I was never able to enjoy that freedom myself,” he wrote.
The former king also revealed for the first time the circumstances surrounding the death of his 14-year-old brother Alfonso in Portugal in 1956, when he was playing with a gun as a teenager.
He called accepting a 65 million euro gift from the Saudi king a “serious mistake” and expressed regret for the affair, which “tarnished his honor.”
