Interesting Times For The Royal Family In Spain

Honestly, the Spanish Royal Family just keeps getting more scandalous.

Photo by GonchoA

The first big black mark during my time here was due to the King's son-in-law, Iñaki Urdangarin (the Duke of Palma).  He was forced to leave the country after being accused of corruption.  It came to light that a network company of which he was co-director, had charged outrageously for their event-promotion services.  And his wife, the Infanta Cristina, was supposedly involved in the running of some of those businesses, too.
Apparently, it was the Duke who used his contacts and influence to get these public-sector contracts with "astronomical budgets."  They then charged amounts which didn't correspond with the services they provided.  It's a little bit hard for me to decipher, especially in Spanish, but it seems they over-charged and then contracted out fake/imaginary services to other businesses in their network, thus making off with the taxpayer money.  You can see why the Spaniards wanted him out...
More info (in Spanish) here.

Photo from capl@washjeff.edu

Then, the King's grandson (Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y Borbón) was doing some shooting practice on the family farm, and shot himself in the foot (literally)... with a gun he was technically too young to be using.  Although, to be fair, he's only a few months off the 14 years that are legally required.
As well as the fact that he required surgery on his right foot, the poor kid was apparently worried about his grandad being angry, and all of this putting extra strain on the already-tense relationship between his own parents.

Photo by Sheree.

And why, asked the Spanish people, wasn't the King visiting young Felipe?  When the answer came to light, it was more bad publicity: he was in Botswana, hunting elephants.  Many people weren't happy about the King's love of hunting, but it wasn't just this which caused dissent.

Photo by Arno & Louise Wildlife

Manuel Ajenjo explains it well in 'El Rey, el elefante y su nieto' (The King, the Elephant, and His Grandson):

"This royal hunting trip took place in a time of great uncertainty in Spain.  The country is going through the worst economic crisis since the transition to democracy, with 5.5 million unemployed.  The photo of the King hunting elephants was the straw which broke the camel's back- which was already under strain after his son-in-law, Iñaki, and his daughter, the Infant Cristina, were implicated in a corruption case."

The King clearly saw that some damage control was required, and his response made history.  He became the first Spanish King to publicly say sorry to his people, apologising for his trip just after being discharged from the clinic where he was treated for his own hunting accident.

"I'm very sorry.  I made a mistake, and it won't happen again."

Reaction of some Spaniards: El Rey as JAWS