The
king of Spain, King Juan Carlos I today announced his abdication after 39 years
on the throne to ‘open a new era of hope for a younger generation”.
The
76-year old who made the surprise announcement in a televised address today –
will hand the throne to his son, Prince Felipe, 46, and his glamorous wife
Letizia, a former award-winning newsreader and divorcee.
He
is the third European monarch to abdicate in just over a year after King Albert
II of Belgium gave his crown to son Philippe last July, three months after
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands made way for her firstborn, Prince
Willem-Alexander.
His
popularity nosedived in the face of a string of corruption scandals and gaffes
in recent years, including the infamous photograph of him posing – gun on hip –
next to a dead elephant in Botswana while his homeland wallowed in its 2012
financial crisis.
And
today a source at the royal palace said the king was abdicating for political
reasons – rather than due to failing health – as the country faces up to the
worst economic crisis in memory.
Will
the Queen of England ever abdicate or is it out of the English Monarch
constitution? Just wondering oh.
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