Accused of harassment by his ex-lover in a British court, the former King of Spain Juan Carlos requested immunity in London on Tuesday for the period prior to his abdication in 2014.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn was Juan Carlos’s lover between 2004 and 2009. She assures that after their breakup, starting in 2012, she was spied on and harassed for eight years by order of the former monarch. This 58-year-old Danish businesswoman, but also her children, would have been threatened, they would have visited her house…
He would have demanded that he give him gifts, such as works of art, jewelry and money in the amount of 65 million euros. The 84-year-old former king strongly denies these allegations.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, also known as Corinna Larsen, filed a harassment complaint in October 2020 in London, where she lives. She requests compensation for psychological damages and loss of income due to anxiety, as well as a restraining order.
The question of immunity
But before talking about this file, there is the question of the immunity of Juan Carlos, who has lived in exile since 2020 in the United Arab Emirates. In March, the High Court in London ruled that he did not enjoy personal immunity, as he was no longer a head of state or a member of the royal family.
Even in the case of actions prior to his abdication in June 2014, the acts of “harassment” of which his former lover is accused “do not fall within the scope of government or sovereign activity” for which he would enjoy immunity under English law, the court ruled. In July, however, she was allowed to appeal this immunity denial.
The court heard arguments from both sides on Tuesday and the hearing ended in the late afternoon. The decision must be made in a few weeks. Neither the former king nor his former mistress attended the hearing. Juan Carlos’ lawyer, Tim Otty, argued that the immunity is “a procedural obstacle” and “says nothing about the legality or morality of the alleged conduct.”
Instead, Corinna Larsen’s lawyer, James Lewis, argued that the appeal should be dismissed, arguing that the alleged harassment involved “intelligence and surveillance” personnel acting as “agents” for the former king.
A controversial podcast
Regardless of the outcome of this appeal, Juan Carlos will not obtain protection for acts committed after his removal from office. However, most of the events reported by Corinna Larsen are after 2014.
Assumed as Head of State in 1975, after the death of the dictator Franco who had appointed him as his successor, King Juan Carlos I was internationally acclaimed for decades and respected nationally for having allowed the return of democracy to Spain.
His popularity plummeted following personal scandals and revelations about his lavish lifestyle in Spain beginning in 2012, including his relationship with Corinna Larsen.
This relationship became public when the monarch broke his hip while on vacation in Botswana with his lover and had to fly home. The revelation, which came during a period of record unemployment in Spain, had sparked anger in his country. Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son Felipe VI, who distanced himself from him.
The trial began when Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn testified about this relationship in a podcast, entitled “Corinna and the King”, produced by two London journalists and whose broadcast on Monday, coinciding with the first hearings, caused controversy in Spain.
Corinna Larsen tells how their relationship opened the doors to a “dangerous” world and tells how she was involved against her will in criminal investigations in Spain about the origin of Juan Carlos’s fortune. Corruption and embezzlement investigations closed since March.
Source: BFM TV
