Spain is a hereditary parliamentary monarchy. The crown belongs to the Bourbon dynasty, which has reigned in Spain, with some interruptions, since 1700, when Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV of France, came to the throne (see the history of Spain). The royal family is well known at home and abroad, and its popularity has had ups and downs.
Juan Carlos I, the king of the transition
Juan Carlos I (born 1938) was designated by Franco as his successor and proclaimed king on 22 November 1975, two days after the dictator's death. Against many expectations, he led the country to democracy, supporting the 1978 Constitution. His most famous moment came during the attempted coup of 23 February 1981, when a group of Civil Guards led by Lieutenant Colonel Tejero seized the Congress: the king appeared on television in uniform and ordered the army to respect the Constitution, helping the coup fail. For decades he was one of the most popular figures in the country.
In 1962 he had married Sofía of Greece, daughter of King Paul I, queen consort until 2014 and much respected for her humanitarian and cultural work. The last years of Juan Carlos's reign, however, were marred by scandals, such as an elephant hunt in Botswana in 2012 in the middle of the economic crisis, and by investigations into his finances. On 19 June 2014 the king abdicated in favour of his son Felipe, and in 2020 he moved to Abu Dhabi.
Felipe VI and Letizia
Felipe VI (born 1968) has been king since 19 June 2014. Prepared for the role from an early age, with studies in law, economics and international relations and military training, he has tried to renew the monarchy's image with more transparency and restraint, renouncing his father's inheritance and distancing himself from him. In 2017, during the Catalan crisis, he gave a very firm speech in defence of constitutional order.
In 2004 he married Letizia Ortiz (born 1972 in Oviedo), a former journalist and TV presenter, the first Spanish queen of middle-class background and previously divorced. The couple have two daughters:
- Leonor (born 31 October 2005), Princess of Asturias and heir to the throne. In 2023, on turning 18, she swore allegiance to the Constitution before the Cortes, and she has trained at the Army, Navy and Air Force academies. If she accedes, she will be the first reigning queen since Isabella II in the nineteenth century.
- Sofía (born 2007), Infanta of Spain.
The Constitution still gives men preference over women in the succession, but Leonor has no brothers, and the question of reform remains open.
Infantas Elena and Cristina
Felipe's older sisters are Infanta Elena (born 1963), mother of Felipe Juan Froilán and Victoria Federica, and Infanta Cristina (born 1965), who was caught up in the Nóos case, a corruption investigation for which her husband Iñaki Urdangarin, a former handball champion, was convicted and jailed. The couple, who have four children, separated in 2022.
The monarchy today
The king's role is mainly representative and guarantor (see how the state works). The debate between monarchists and republicans is always present in Spanish politics, especially on the left and among Catalan and Basque nationalists, but Felipe VI's monarchy enjoys broader support than his father's final years. The official residence is the Royal Palace in Madrid, used for ceremonies, while the family lives in the Zarzuela palace on the edge of the capital (see Madrid).