Ultimately, Franco decided to skip a generation and name Juan de Borbón's son, Prince Juan Carlos, as his personal successor. Franco hoped the young prince could be groomed to take over the nation while still maintaining the ultraconservative and authoritarian nature of his regime. [20] In 1969, Juan Carlos was officially designated heir-apparent and was given the new title of Prince of Spain (not the traditional Prince of Asturias). [20] As a condition of being named heir-apparent, he was required to swear loyalty to Franco's Movimiento Nacional, which he did with little outward hesitation. [23] His choice was ratified by the Spanish parliament on 22 July 1969. [24] Juan Carlos I anuncia su retirada de la vida pública". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 27 May 2019 . Retrieved 29 May 2019. In 1972, Juan Carlos, a keen sailor, competed in the Dragon class event at the Olympic Games, finishing 15th. During their summer holidays, the whole family spends time at Marivent Palace ( Palma de Mallorca) and on the yacht Fortuna, where they would take part in sailing competitions. The king has manned the Bribón series of yachts. In winter, the family often went skiing in Baqueira-Beret and Candanchú ( Pyrenees). At present, his hobbies include classic sailing boats. [156] He also hunts bears; in October 2004, he angered environmental activists by killing nine bears in central Romania, one of which was pregnant. [157] It was alleged by the Russian regional authorities that in August 2006 Juan Carlos shot a drunken tame bear (Mitrofan the Bear) during a private hunting trip to Russia; the Office of the Spanish Monarchy denied this claim. [158]

Her Royal Highness D. Maria Pia of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Braganza, the Crown Princess of Portugal" in Jean Pailler; Maria Pia of Braganza: The Pretender. New York: ProjectedLetters, 2006; Rodriguez, Alexis (24 March 2020). "Felipe VI's move to disown his father and his attempt to try to save the Spanish Crown". El Ciudadano.

On paper, Juan Carlos retained fairly extensive reserve powers. He was the guardian of the Constitution and was responsible for ensuring that it was obeyed. In practice, since the passage of the Constitution (and especially since 1982), he took a mostly non-partisan and representative role, acting almost entirely on the advice of the government. However, he commanded great moral authority as an essential symbol of the country's unity.

L, Elizabeth Reyes (6 August 2014). "El Rey Juan Carlos visita Colombia para la toma de posesión del presidente Santos". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582 . Retrieved 27 August 2023.a b Govan, Fiona (13 June 2014). "Spain will have two kings and two queens". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022 . Retrieved 14 June 2014.

The rendering of his name as "Juan Carlos" (the first and second particles of his baptismal name) was a modification by choice of Francisco Franco. [10] He was always known in his familiar circle simply as "Juan" or "Juanito". [10] Brother's death [ edit ]Spain's ex-King Juan Carlos leaves country". BBC News. 4 August 2020 . Retrieved 4 August 2020. Spain's Supreme Court has said it aims to establish Juan Carlos's connection with the Saudi project after his abdication in June 2014. At that point he lost his immunity from prosecution. Marca España | The years of the Franco regime". Marcaespana.es. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014 . Retrieved 10 June 2014. Cedéo Alvarado, Ernesto (4 February 2008). "Rey Juan Carlos abochornó a Pinochet". Panamá América (in Spanish) . Retrieved 4 April 2016. El Rey Don Juan Carlos a Hugo Chávez: "¿Por qué no te callas?" " (in Spanish). Antena 3. 11 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 November 2007 . Retrieved 11 November 2007. ("King Juan Carlos to Hugo Chávez: 'Why don't you shut up?'")