The Royal Club Náutico, in the resort of Sanxenxo, a curving strip of white sand beach on Spain's Galician coast, is a major stop on the international sailboat racing circuit. But the hundreds of journalists who mobbed the port on May 20 hadn't come to admire the yachts competing in the 2022 Spanish Cup. The object of their attention was an octogenarian sailor sporting salmon-colored chinos and a pink baseball cap: Spain's former king, Juan Carlos I. Having abdicated the throne in 2014, then gone into exile under pressure from his son, King Felipe VI, in 2020, he had chosen this moment for his first trip home from his current residence, an islet off the coast of Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
The Casa Real, as the Spanish royal house is known, hadn't wanted Juan Carlos to come home at all. "He's seen as a burden," says José María Irujo, an investigative reporter for El País, Spain's largest newspaper, who exposed a series of suspicious gifts to Juan Carlos from billionaire benefactors that were funneled over the years into secret bank accounts, including one belonging to his socialite mistress. An investigation into his finances by Swiss prosecutors, launched in 2018, ended in December 2021 with no charges filed. Three months later Spanish prosecutors dropped their own probe, citing "a lack of incriminating evidence, the statute of limitations, [and] the inviolability of the head of state."
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
For Your Eyes Only
A small wedding has many charms. Here's the proof
Anatomy of a Classic
Ballet flats have been around since medieval times. They still know how to have fun.
It's the Capital Gains Tax, Stupid
In the battle for billionaire political donations, the presidential election finally turned Silicon Valley into Wall Street without the monocle.
I'll Have What She's Wearing
Refined neutrals, face-framing turtlenecks, a white coat that says: I've got 30 more. Twenty-five years on, Rene Russo's Thomas Crown Affair wardrobe remains the blueprint for grown-up glamour.
Isn't That RICH?
If fragrance is invisible jewelry, how do you smell as if you're wearing diamonds, not cubic zirconia?
THE MACKENZIE EFFECT
A $36 billion fortune made MacKenzie Scott one of the richest women in the world. How shes giving it away makes her fascinating.
Her Roman Empire
Seventeen floors up, across from the Vegas behemoth that bears her name, Elaine Wynn is charting a major cultural future for America's casino capital, and she's doing it from a Michael Smith-designed oasis in the middle of the neon desert.
Are You There, God? I'm at Harvard
Why on earth are a bunch of successful midcareer professionals quitting their jobs and applying to Harvard Divinity School? Hint: It has nothing to do with heaven.
Bryan Stevenson
He has dedicated his life to defending the unfairly incarcerated and condemned. But his vision for racial justice has always been about more than winning in court.
Emma Heming Willis
Once best known as a model and entrepreneur, today shes an advocate for patients and caretakers dealing with an incurable disease—one that hits very close to home. Here, she speaks with Katie Couric about her mission.
