No immunity for the ex-king of Spain. The High Court in London on Thursday refused his request for immunity conferred by his status as a member of the royal family. This decision paves the way for harassment proceedings brought by a former companion.
This decision is a setback for Juan Carlos I, 84, who lives in exile in the United Arab Emirates, while Spanish justice had closed three investigations targeting him in early March, in particular for corruption and embezzlement.
New hearing at the end of March
“Whatever status the defendant has under Spanish law and constitution, he is no longer a ‘sovereign’ or ‘head of state’ giving him personal immunity,” the judge said. , Matthew Nicklin, in declaring the High Court competent to consider the complaint.
He also considered that the alleged harassment of which the ex-king is accused “does not fall within the sphere of governmental or sovereign activity”. A new hearing has been set for March 29.
“Terrible Facts”
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, 58, a Danish businesswoman, is suing Juan Carlos in the High Court in London to obtain damages for alleged acts of harassment. “Today’s judgment demonstrates that this defendant cannot hide behind any position, power or privilege to avoid this procedure,” said his lawyer, Robin Rathmell.
“This is the first step on the path to equity; the appalling facts of this case will finally be brought to justice,” he added in a statement. According to documents presented by her lawyers, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn had an “intimate romantic relationship” with the former monarch between 2004 and 2009. After their breakup, they would have remained friends, before Juan Carlos sought to rekindle their relationship.
Intrusions and gunfire
When the businesswoman ‘clearly indicated her refusal’, the ex-king engaged in ‘harassing behaviour’, she claims, accusing her of ‘organizing’ a series of malicious acts , causing him “distress and anxiety”.
His lawyers provided the Court with details of numerous acts – trespassing on his property in England or shooting his security device, drilling a hole in his bedroom window in the middle of the night – which they believe were ordered by Juan Carlos.
“There are a lot of tunnels between Monaco and Nice”
An “associate” of Juan Carlos would thus have been “threatening” towards her and her children during a meeting in London in 2012, scheduled to “correspond to the break-ins in her apartments in Monaco and Villars, Switzerland”.
One day, a book about Princess Diana’s death was ostensibly placed on a table in her home while she was away. The evening when Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn discovered it, she claims to have received a call from a stranger telling her in Spanish that “there are a lot of tunnels between Monaco and Nice”, in the south-east of France. Juan Carlos denied these accusations.
The former monarch stayed in Abu Dhabi
Surrounded by scandals and revelations about his lavish lifestyle in Spain, where he was a central figure in the democratic transition after the death of dictator Franco in 1975, he fell out of favor there. He abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son Felipe VI, who distanced himself.
Despite the closure of legal investigations targeting him in his country, which could have marked his return, he chose to stay in Abu Dhabi. In December, the Swiss justice had also dismissed the investigation into the assets of the former sovereign in Switzerland, including 100 million dollars paid by Saudi Arabia.