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King Juan Carlos of Spain with Sofia. File Photo: Gerard Julien/AFP
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King Juan Carlos of Spain to abdicate
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe is to take over the reins, he added.
The 76-year-old king who took the throne in 1975 was "convinced" of his decision, and would give his own reasons for this abdication, the Spanish Prime Minister said during the brief press conference.
Rajoy described the king as the "best symbol of unity and peace" for the country, and said the abdication process would be carried "in the context of instutional stability".
The Spanish leader called an emergency press conference shortly before 10am on Monday, with immediate speculation in the Spanish press being that the annoucement concerned the position of King Juan Carlos.
VOX POP: The Local spoke to Spaniards on the street in 2013 about whether King Juan Carlos should abdicate
Spain's monarch took power after the country had experienced nearly 40 years of dictatorship under Francisco Franco.
He won widespread respect for his role in restoring Spain's democracy
during the so-called 'Transition' but a series of scandals have taken
the shine of the country's royal family in recent times.
The king's youngest daughter Cristina and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin
are embroiled in a long-running corruption case involving alleged
embezzlement of €6 million ($8.3 million) in funds from a charitable
sports foundation.
The resignation of the king will help the verb RESIGN become conjugated in Spain, Lobo also tweeted, a reference to the fact that very few Spanish public figures step down.
Spain's online newspaper El Confidential said the king had resigned to save the monarchy from an institutional crisis.
Published: 02 Jun 2014 10:35
