Exiled Spanish king denies affair with 'cold' Princess Diana

By James Badcock.

Spain's former king Juan Carlos has denied that he had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales, describing her as "cold and taciturn".

In Juan Carlos's as-yet unpublished memoirs, the disgraced former monarch and notorious womaniser says nothing happened between him and Princess Diana during her visits to his summer home in Mallorca.

"Cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi," is Juan Carlos's description of Diana in Reconciliation, due to be published in France next week.

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Royal watchers in Spain and the UK have speculated that Juan Carlos seduced the Princess at the Marivent Palace, the Spanish royal family's summer home in Palma de Mallorca, where she accompanied the then Prince Charles and their children William and Harry on three consecutive summer visits between 1986 and 1988.

Juan Carlos is reputed to have had relations with dozens of women outside of his marriage to the then Queen Sofía, including affairs with a number of Spanish actresses and aristocrats.

His relationship with Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, a businesswoman and socialite, played a major role in his decision to abdicate in favour of his son Felipe VI in 2014 after the affair became public knowledge following an ill-fated elephant-hunting safari trip.

Princess Diana never spoke publicly about the rumours, although she was said to have found him "a little too attentive".

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Andrew Morton, her biographer, quoted her as calling Juan Carlos "a very libidinous man".

"I felt uncomfortable being left alone with him in a room, although I can assure you that nothing happened," the Princess told friends after a visit to Mallorca, according to Mr Morton's book Ladies of Spain.

Juan Carlos left Spain and moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 without Queen Sofía after his financial and tax affairs were placed under investigation by prosecutors in Spain's supreme court.

Eventually, no charges were brought after the former king made extraordinary payments of more than €5 million ($8.8 million) to Spain's tax agency while other counts of tax evasion were adjudged to have elapsed.

In an interview with Le Figaro this week, Juan Carlos said he moved to Abu Dhabi to help Felipe VI. He wanted to improve the image of Spain's royal household amid the succession of scandals.

"To help my son, I looked for a place where journalists from my country couldn't easily find me," Juan Carlos told the French newspaper.

"The last time a Spanish journalist came, the local authorities threw him in jail. I had to intervene to have him released," he said.

Spanish authorities are preparing public events to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the dictator Francisco Franco on November 20 under the title "Spain in Liberty".

General Franco had chosen Juan Carlos as his successor, with the young king inheriting absolute power in 1975 before launching a transition to democracy that led to free elections in 1977 and Spain's current constitution one year later.

Despite his key role in shaping democratic Spain, Felipe VI and the government of prime minister Pedro Sánchez have yet to announce whether Juan Carlos will be included in the anniversary celebrations.

Juan Carlos said he decided to write his memoirs together with the French author Lawrence Debray to reclaim what he considers his rightful place in the history of Spain.

"Democracy didn't just fall from the sky!" Juan Carlos told his interviewer from Le Figaro in the garden of his home on the private island of Nurai.

© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2025

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