Felipe VI of Spain parents: Meet Juan Carlos I, Sofía of Spain – Felipe VI is the current King of Spain. He was born on 30 January 1968 and is the third child and only son of the former king, Juan Carlos I, and Queen Sofía.
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Felipe ascended to the throne on June 19, 2014, following his father’s abdication.
His reign has been marked by his dissolution of the Spanish Parliament in 2016 (to allow for new elections), his strong condemnation of the Catalan independence referendum, which resulted in the 2017-18 Spanish constitutional crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and moves toward greater transparency in royal affairs.
Meet Juan Carlos I, Sofía of Spain
Felipe VI’s father Juan Carlos I is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014.
Since his abdication, Juan Carlos has usually been referred to as the Rey Emérito (‘King Emeritus’).
Born on 5 January 1938 and 85 years as of 2023, Juan Carlos I spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies.
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After finishing secondary school in 1955, he began his military training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza.
He later attended the Navy Military School and the General Academy of the Air before completing his tertiary study at the University of Madrid.
Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in Athens in 1962, and they have two daughters, Elena and Cristina, in addition to Felipe VI.
Juan Carlos was instrumental in stopping a coup in 1981 that attempted to restore Francoist rule in the King’s name.
In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader across all Ibero-America.
The King and the monarchy’s reputation began to suffer after difficulties concerning his family developed, which were exacerbated by a public dispute centered on an elephant-hunting excursion he made during a period of financial difficulty in Spain.
In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated for personal reasons in favor of his son, Felipe VI, who ascended to the throne.
Juan Carlos has been living in self-imposed exile from Spain since August 2020 due to alleged inappropriate ties to business deals in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Carlos is the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the monarchy was abolished in 1931 and the Second Spanish Republic was declared.
Source: abtc.ng
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