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ROYAL FAMILY

Spain’s King Felipe distances himself from scandal-hit father

King Felipe VI of Spain moved Sunday to distance himself from his scandal-hit father, stripping him of his palace allowance and renouncing what he was due to inherit from him.

Spain's King Felipe distances himself from scandal-hit father
The two kings. Photo: AFP

The announcement came after reports earlier this month in the Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve that former monarch Juan Carlos had received 100 million dollars (90 million euros) from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account.

The money was lodged in a Swiss bank account in the name of a Panamanian foundation, the paper reported, according to which $65 million of that sum was given by Juan Carlos to his former mistress, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein.   

A later report in Britain's Daily Telegraph said that 52-year-old King Felipe was also a beneficiary of the fund, which it said had been set up when Juan Carlos was still on the throne.

In the palace statement released Sunday, the reigning king said that in April he had made it clear to a notary that he would accept no money from the foundation in question.

He also said he had absolutely no knowledge of having been named as a beneficiary to another foundation, which according to press reports paid millions of euros towards his father's flights in private jets.

The statement said King Felipe was renouncing any assets, shares or investments that might be either illegal or compromise the royal family's integrity.

Spanish media reports say Juan Carlos has until now received an annual allowance from the state of more than 194,000 euros ($216,000).  

Growing pressure from the left   

The reaction from leftwing parties Sunday evening suggested that for them, at least, it was not enough.

On Twitter, economist Carlos Sanchez Mato of the United Left party, called on the king to renounce everything he stood to inherit from his father – including his role as head of state.

On Tuesday, the Spanish parliament decided against launching an investigation into suspected money laundering by the former king.    

Spain's hard-left Podemos party had called for it after reports earlier this month that in 2008 Juan Carlos received $100 million from Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah via the Swiss account of an entity listed in Panama.

Podemos, which is part of the ruling coalition with Pedro Sanchez's Socialist Party, is avowedly republican.

Juan Carlos, now 82, came to the throne after the death of the military dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and is widely respected for having favoured a transition to democracy.

But he lost his immunity from prosecution after handing power to his son, Felipe, in June 2014 following a 39-year reign.   

He resigned from public life last year after a series of scandals about his private life.

In 2012, he outraged Spaniards by going elephant hunting in Botswana at the height of the country's recession.

But he is not the only Spanish royal to have been caught up in a scandal.    

In 2018, King Felipe's brother-in-law Inaki, the husband of Princess Cristina, was jailed for more than five years for siphoning off millions of euros from a foundation he ran in the island of Majorca.

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WORKING IN SWEDEN

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

The King’s mounted Royal Guards will no longer be able to wear their iconic ceremonial helmets on parades, after the Swedish Work Environment Authority warned of serious safety concerns.

Swedish Royal Guards scrap ceremonial helmets over safety concerns

“We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously and we are going to address this immediately,” colonel Stefan Nacksten, head of the Royal Guards, wrote in a statement. 

Employed by the Armed Forces, the Royal Guards are the King’s cavalry and infantry units and are a well-known sight at ceremonies in Sweden, including at the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Stockholm every day in summer – a popular spectacle for Stockholmers and tourists alike.

The helmets will no longer be used by Royal Guards on horseback from July 7th, as they do not conform to safety standards for riding helmets, although guards parading on foot will still be permitted to wear them.

They are part of the 1895 parade uniforms and were last modified in 2000. The Armed Forces will now create an entirely new helmet which looks the part, but is also safe for riding.

“We’re working on finding an alternative solution as quickly as possible which meets safety requirements and can also be used during parades,” Nacksten said.

“We’ve been working long-term with this issue but now that it has been assessed [by the Swedish Work Environment Authority] we need to take measures immediately,” he added.

“This is good, and now we’re working to make sure something good comes out of this and we can get a safe riding helmet for parades in place as soon as possible.”

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