Don Juan Carlos turns 83: we review some of the historical moments that have marked his life

This January 5, 2021, Don Juan Carlos blows out one more candle on his birthday cake. In total, the father of King Felipe is 83 years old and, coinciding with this date marked in red on his life calendar, we review some of the most important historical moments that he has lived in these more than eight decades . From his birth, in 1938, in Rome, to his abdication in the figure of his son, in 2014. A succession of events that are not only key in the life of King Juan Carlos, but, in many cases, in society as a whole.

SEE GALLERY

CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PHOTO GALLERY

Birth in Rome

Son of don Juan de Borbón y Battenberg and doña María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans, don Juan Carlos came into the world in Rome and was baptized 19 days after his birth in the chapel of the Order of Malta in Rome for the future Pope Pius XII. His godparents were his paternal grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, and his maternal grandfather, Carlos Tancredo of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. After the resignation of Alfonso XIII and his eldest sons, it would be Don Juan who would become the head of the Spanish Royal House.

School life in Spain

After spending the first years in Estoril (Portugal), he was sent first to Freiburg (Switzerland) and later to Spain. It was the year 1948 and only two years later his father made him return. Later he would return with his brother Alfonso, this time to the Miramar Palace in San Sebastián. In our country he would continue with his studies and finish high school to later start the relevant military training in the three academies.

SEE GALLERY

Engagement with Doña Sofía

In 1961, his engagement to Sofia of Greece, daughter of King Pablo and Federica, was officially announced. The two had met years earlier during a cruise aboard the Agamemnon. After coinciding in several events of European royalty -such as the wedding of the Dukes of Kent, in the United Kingdom-, the relationship between the two was made official with a ring that Don Juan Carlos himself threw into the air during a family lunch.

triple wedding

The couple married in three ceremonies in May 1962: by the Catholic rite in the Cathedral of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, civilly in the Royal Palace and by the Orthodox rite in the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens. Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía then began their honeymoon and, later, they would start their new married life in the Palacio de la Zarzuela, where they would form their family: in 1963 the infanta Elena came into the world, two years later the infanta Cristina, and in 1968, then Prince Philip. The latter was baptized in February. The godparents then were Don Juan and Queen Victoria Eugenia, who was returning to Spain for the first time from her exile in April 1931.

SEE GALLERY

Proclamation as King

The tense relations between the Count of Barcelona and Franco led to his being appointed successor, not Don Juan, but his son Juan Carlos. That happened in 1969. Six years later, he was proclaimed King in the Congress of Deputies, accompanied by his wife and his children. In his first message to the nation, he expressed his intention to establish Democracy and to be the king of all Spaniards without distinction.

SEE GALLERY

Don Juan waives his rights

Another of the historical moments occurred in May 1977, when Don Juan renounced his dynastic rights and transferred him the Headship of the Spanish Royal House in an unprecedented solemn act full of generosity after a long life in exile. His words, 'Your Majesty, for Spain, all for Spain. Long live Spain! Long live the King!', they will hardly be forgotten. The father of don Juan Carlos was able to maintain the title of Count of Barcelona throughout his life and was also promoted to captain general by the Government in 1988.

Spanish Constitution Referendum

On December 6, 1978, the kings Juan Carlos and Sofía were seen voting for the referendum on the Spanish Constitution at the San Fernando de El Pardo school in Madrid. The truth is that the Spanish Royal Family abstains from voting in electoral appointments, but they can go to the polls in referendums like this one. The Magna Carta would be sanctioned days later by Don Juan Carlos himself in the solemn session of the Cortes Generales.

SEE GALLERY

The night of 23-F

In all these years, the turning point, the most historic scene of the reign of Don Juan Carlos is, without a doubt, the night of February 23, 1981. That day the failed coup d'état by several military commanders took place who assaulted and kidnapped the Congress of Deputies for hours -in the middle of the investiture session of Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo-. Don Juan Carlos, dressed in the uniform of a Captain General of the Armies, addressed a televised message to the nation: "The Crown, symbol of the permanence and unity of the country, cannot tolerate, in any way, actions or attitudes of people who intend to interrupt by force the democratic process that the Constitution voted for by the Spanish people determined in its day through a referendum", he defended then.

SEE GALLERY

Barcelona '92 Olympic Games

In addition to visiting practically all the countries of the world and the main international organizations, Don Juan Carlos maintains an excellent relationship with the monarchies of the entire planet. His diplomatic work has been crucial for trade relations between countries and in line with his representation of Spain, in 1992 he helped promote Barcelona during the Olympic Games that he presided over with his wife. The then prince Felipe acted as standard bearer before the proud look of his parents and the emotion of his sisters, especially the infanta Elena.

SEE GALLERY

Abdication and proclamation of King Philip

On June 2, 2014, he decided to abdicate the Crown in the hands of his son Felipe and thus communicated it to the then President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy. The sanction and promulgation of the Organic Law became effective on June 18 and, a day later, Don Felipe was proclaimed King, in the presence of his wife, Doña Letizia, and their two daughters, Princess Leonor and Infant Sofia.

A video congratulations on the occasion of his birthday

On the occasion of this 83rd anniversary, one of the congratulations that King Juan Carlos has received has arrived in the form of a video, a summary in which a tribute is paid to his role throughout his forty years on the throne . The Concordia Real Española association has recognized his work in this show that reviews various moments of his life and his reign. The images take a journey through the childhood of Don Juan Carlos and highlight the most important episodes he has starred in, a clip accompanied by a statement in which the association highlights that "he is one of the great Monarchs that Spain has had" and highlights the work who served for decades as ambassador of our country.

Congratulations from the Concordia Real Española association to King Juan Carlos on the occasion of his 83rd birthday