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SPAIN'S former King Juan Carlos I has fled the country after becoming embroiled in a corruption scandal. The ex-head of state, 82, made the announcement in a letter to his son Felipe, the current king, amid an investigation by the Spanish Supreme Court into his alleged dealings in Saudi Arabia. It is an embarrassing exit for the monarch who reigned for almost 40 years until 2014, when he voluntarily handed over the reins to King Felipe.

Spain's King Felipe VI has renounced the inheritance of his scandal-hit father Juan Carlos. In a statement, the palace said that Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, would also stop receiving an annual grant of €194,000 (£174,800; $217,100). This comes as the 82-year-old former king is being criticised for his lavish lifestyle. Juan Carlos, who reigned for 39 years, is also facing an investigation by the Swiss financial authorities. This follows media reports that he had received $100m in 2008 from Saudi Arabia via an offshore account.

MADRID, June 2 (Reuters) - Spain's King Juan Carlos said on Monday he would abdicate in favour of his son Prince Felipe, aiming to revive the scandal-hit monarchy at a time of economic hardship and growing discontent with the wider political elite. "A new generation is quite rightly demanding to take the lead role," Juan Carlos, 76, said on television, hours after a surprise announcement from Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy that the monarch would step down after almost 40 years on the throne. The once popular Juan Carlos, who helped smooth Spain's transition to democracy in the 1970s after the...

King Juan Carlos of Spain told Britain that Spain “did not really want” Gibraltar back as it would lead to claims from Morocco for Spanish territories in North Africa, newly declassified documents from the 1980s released by the Foreign Office reveal. The King of Spain admitted privately in a meeting with the then British ambassador to Madrid, Sir Richard Parsons, that it was “not in Spain’s interest to recover Gibraltar in the near future”. If it did so, “King Hassan would immediately reactivate the Moroccan claim to Ceuta and Melilla,” the monarch, who celebrated his 76th birthday on Sunday, reportedly...

King Juan Carlos's daughter likely to be formally named as a suspect in multimillion-euro scandal ahead of possible indictment As a financial scandal engulfs the royal family and politicians begin to call for his abdication, Spain's King Juan Carlos faces one of the worst weeks in his 37-year reign, with prosecutors set to ask a judge to formally name his daughter Princess Cristina as a suspect in a multimillion-euro fraud and money-laundering case. The request, which would be a preliminary step to a possible indictment, is poised to be made next week and will be based on the testimony of...

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday he would like to give the king of Spain a hug when he visits Europe next week, but the outspoken leader, referring to a diplomatic spat last year, said he will not shut up.

EVEN though they achieved independence more than a century ago, the Spanish-speaking nations of Latin America often look to Spain as a reference point. Sometimes the mother country is a foil, sometimes a support, sometimes a mirror, for what unfolds on this side of the Atlantic. In recent weeks, Spain clearly has been cast as both a punching bag for Latin America’s leftists and a bastion of valor for its moderates, after a dissing match in which a king of Spain took offense at a Venezuelan president’s remarks and told him, very publicly: “Why don’t you shut up?”

Venezuelan President released another attention-catching remark about his long-time foe U.S. President George W. Bush. Chavez also attacked Spanish King Juan Carlos I, with whom he had recently come into conflict in Chile’s capital Santiago. Chavez blasted the U.S. and Spanish leaders visiting Paris and Lisbon, ITAR-TASS reports. The Venezuelan president stated in Paris that George W. Bush should be placed in an asylum for his comments about a possibility to start Third World War if Iran developed nuclear weapons. In Lisbon Chavez said that the Spanish King could not make up with the fact that Latin American countries (former...

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez is not about to turn the other cheek after a catching a verbal slap from Spanish King Juan Carlos last weekend. The fiery leftist leader of Venezuela all but openly warned Spain that his country doesn't need Spanish investment, and that he expects the king to offer an immediate apology.

The diplomatic row between Hugo Chavez and Spain intensified yesterday as the Venezuelan president demanded to know the Spanish monarch’s knowledge of a coup that briefly removed the Socialist leader from power. Mr Chavez, who was in Chile for the Ibero-American summit, claimed that Spain’s ambassador had appeared at Venezuela’s presidential palace during the two-day coup in 2002 to support the interim president Pedro Carmona. Mr Chavez insisted that such support could only have been sanctioned with the Spanish King’s blessing. Related Links Chavez vows revenge for Falklands war Chavez seeks endless presidential terms His comments followed the public spat...

SANTIAGO, Chile - President Hugo Chavez lashed back at Spain's king Sunday for telling him to "shut up" during a summit, suggesting the monarch knew in advance of a 2002 coup that briefly ousted the Venezuelan leader from power. Chavez claimed that Spain's ambassador had backed interim president Pedro Carmona and appeared at Venezuela's presidential palace during the two-day coup in 2002. He demanded to know how deeply King Juan Carlos had been involved. "Mr. King, did you know about the coup d'etat against Venezuela, against the democratic, legitimate government of Venezuela in 2002?" Chavez said before reporters in Santiago....

Chavez in Spanish king coup jibe Hugo Chavez said he was not going to shut up The spat between Spain's king and Venezuela's president took a new turn as Hugo Chavez demanded to know the monarch's knowledge of a 2002 coup. On Saturday King Juan Carlos told Mr Chavez to "shut up" at a summit in Chile after the president said ex-Spain PM Jose Maria Aznar was a "fascist". The king was widely applauded in the media back home. On Sunday Mr Chavez said the king was "imprudent" and asked if he knew in advance of the brief coup against...

MADRID -- Spain's King Juan Carlos I was applauded by the national media Sunday for telling Hugo Chavez to "shut up" after the Venezuelan president heaped abuse on a former Spanish premier at an Ibero-American summit. The Spanish king stormed out just before the scheduled end of the forum in the Chilean capital Santiago after Chavez described his former prime minister Jose-Maria Aznar as a "fascist" and launched a stinging tirade. Before walking out, the king told Chavez to "just shut up." The dispute was a dramatic finale for the 17th meeting of the heads of state and government of...

HAVANA - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro openly criticized Latin America's socialist-leaning presidents for the first time on Sunday. Castro also praised Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his other revolutionary regional allies in a commentary carried by official Cuban media on the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile. Nearly all 19 leaders who attended the summit were leftists, but there was debate over the region's future and the closing speeches on Saturday were marked by sharp exchanges..."I listened with great sorrow to the speeches pronounced from traditional left positions at the Ibero-American summit," Castro wrote. He was apparently referring to the...

Spanish king tells Chavez to ‘shut up‘ 2007/11 By EDUARDO GALLARDO, Associated Press Writer 4 minutes ago SANTIAGO, Chile - The king of Spain told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" Saturday during a heated exchange at a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Aznar, a conservative who was an ally of Bush as prime minister, "is a fascist," Chavez said in a speech at the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile. "Fascists are not human. A snake is more human." "Former President Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of...

Madrid - Former Spanish chief of state José Maria Aznar spoke with the King of Spain and with current prime minister Jose Luis Rodríguez Zapatero this afternoon to thank them for the support they expressed for him in the Iberoamerican meeting yesterday in Santiago de Chile after Aznar was criticized by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The conversation with Zapatero was brief, just 10 minutes, and took place after Zapatero placed a floral offering at the memorial to victims of the military dictatorship in Argentina...government sources have confirmed Zapatero responded to Aznar, saying, "I acted according to my principles and for...

SANTIAGO, Chile - The king of Spain told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to "shut up" Saturday during a heated exchange at a summit of leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal. Chavez, who called President Bush the "devil" on the floor of the United Nations last year, triggered the exchange by repeatedly referring to former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as a "fascist." Aznar, a conservative who was an ally of Bush as prime minister, "is a fascist," Chavez said in a speech at the Ibero-American summit in Santiago, Chile. "Fascists are not human. A snake is more human."...

Spain's king to Venezuela's Chavez - "shut up" Sat Nov 10, 2007 2:21pm EST By Manuel Farias and Pav Jordan SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday to "shut up" during closing speeches by leaders from the Latin world that brought the Ibero-American summit to an acrimonious end. "Why don't you shut up?" the king shouted at Chavez, pointing a finger at the president when he tried to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. Zapatero was in the middle of a speech to the summit of mostly leftist...

One man can make a difference: that is the lesson of the life of Pope John Paul II. If someone had told you, 50 years ago, that the three men who would do the most to advance human freedom in the next half century were the parish priest of St. Florian's Church in Krakow, the military cadet who was the grandson of the last king of Spain and the star of the recent movie "Bedtime for Bonzo," you would not have believed him. But so it has been. History takes surprising turns. And it is often individual men and women,...

Hard explosion next to the Palace of Congresses of Madrid A strong explosion has registered this morning next to the Palace of Congresses of Madrid. According to eyewitnesses, a car is destroyed in the Avenue of the $andes. The police and cash of the SAMUR are moving to the place of the facts and the buildings of the zone are being evacuated. The place of the outbreak is to few meters of IFEMA, where this late ARC with the attendance of the Kings and the president of Mexico is inaugurated, Vicente Fox.