Spain’s former King Juan Carlos I on Tuesday reopened a British court battle over claims of molestation by his former lover and is calling for his legal immunity as king to be confirmed.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 58, is seeking damages for assault from the 84-year-old former monarch, who ruled Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014.
The British resident has accused Juan Carlos, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, of spying on and harassing her after their relationship fell apart in 2012.
She filed a harassment lawsuit in London in 2020, claiming he pressured her to return gifts worth €65 million ($65 million), including artwork and jewelry.
Juan Carlos, who appears in court under his full name Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria De Borbon y Borbon, has not appeared for hearings and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
In March, the High Court in London rejected Juan Carlos’ claim that English courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case because he enjoys state immunity as King.
Judge Matthew Nicklin said that “whatever special status the defendant retained under the law and constitution of Spain, he was no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’ which would entitle him to personal immunity”.
The former king’s lawyers appealed and obtained permission for a legal challenge regarding the time Juan Carlos was on the throne.
This will be considered by three judges at the Court of Appeal from 10:30 GMT on Tuesday, with a verdict expected in a few weeks, after which the harassment lawsuit will continue.
– podcast –
Hearings continue as Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn discussed the relationship in a recent podcast titled “Corinna and the King.”
Court filings claim that the married Juan Carlos had an “intimate love affair” with the estranged from 2004 to 2009 and showered her with gifts.
She claimed that after their relationship failed, Juan Carlos began harassing her, using threats, break-ins into their properties and surveillance.
Juan Carlos “demanded the return of gifts,” she claimed, and she suffered “trespassing and criminal harm” at her home in rural central England.
Shots were fired at security cameras at the property’s front gate and damaged, she claimed, accusing the former king of being furious at her refusal.
The couple’s relationship came to light in 2012 when the monarch broke a hip while on holiday in Botswana with Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn and had to be flown home, sparking public fury during a period of record unemployment in Spain.
Two years later, at the age of 76, Juan Carlos, haunted by the scandals and health problems, abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI. who has now distanced himself from his father.
Juan Carlos went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates in 2020.
The couple attended Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral in September and sat together.
Juan Carlos was protected for decades by his enormous popularity as a key figure in the democratic transition following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
The excesses of the monarch only came to light in the final years of his reign, sparking a spate of investigations into corruption scandals.
