'I didn't want my son to grow old waiting like Prince Charles': King Juan Carlos of Spain reveals why he decided to abdicate

Courtiers say monarch wants his son in his prime when he is king

Crown Prince Felipe is 20 years younger than Prince Charles, 65

Yesterday, the Spanish king presided over his last military parade

His son will be proclaimed King Felipe VI of Spain on June 19





The King of Spain told courtiers he decided to abdicate because he did not want his son to ‘wither’ and ‘grow old waiting for the throne like Prince Charles’, it was claimed yesterday.

King Juan Carlos last week announced that he would hand over to his 46-year-old heir, Crown Prince Felipe.

In a televised address, the 76-year-old, who has ruled since 1975, said he wanted to herald in a ‘new era of hope’ and ensure a ‘younger generation… with new energies’ could take over the helm.



Handover: King Juan Carlos is pictured with his 46-year-old heir, Crown Prince Felipe, in Madrid yesterday

And yesterday, according to reports in the Spanish press, the king told aides he felt the time was right to pass the throne on while Prince Felipe was still a young man. ‘I do not want my son to wither waiting like Prince Charles,’ he reportedly told Rafael Spottorno, chief of the royal household. RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Next Thousands of anti-monarchist protesters take to streets of... Blooming marvellous! Paris names flower market after Queen... Share this article Share The private secretary said the king – whose popularity has slumped in recent years following a series of scandals – had been considering abdicating since his 75th birthday in January last year. ‘He saw, above all, that his son was in his prime and didn’t want to see him like Prince Charles who will be 66 years old in November,’ Mr Spottorno told Spanish daily newspaper El Mundo . Waiting: The King told courtiers he decided to abdicate because he did not want his son to 'grow old waiting for the throne like Prince Charles', it was claimed yesterday. Above, the Queen, Prince Charles and Camilla (Left to right) King Juan Carlos of Spain at his last military parade, with Queen Sofia, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia However, last week, a source at the royal palace in Madrid claimed King Juan Carlos was abdicating for political reasons. The monarch’s popularity has nosedived amid accusations of being out of touch as his country struggles with its worst economic crisis in memory. In 2012, he was widely criticised for going on a secret hunting trip to Botswana to shoot elephants. The lavish holiday contrasted with the news at home that one in four Spanish workers was jobless. Prince Charles has been waiting for 62 years and four months – longer than any other heir apparent in British history – to take the throne. He became heir apparent at the age of three when his mother, then Princess Elizabeth, who is now 88, acceded in 1952.