In the 1980s, then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana were frequent guests of the Spanish royal family. King Juan Carlos was reportedly close to both Charles and Diana. Juan Carlos was and is a notorious womanizer who has left mistresses strewn around Europe for decades. Obviously, there were rumors that Juan Carlos tried to hit on Diana, and there were rumors that they had an affair as well. Diana even spoke about Juan Carlos to Andrew Morton, when they were working together on the tell-all book. Diana said outright that while nothing happened, she felt uncomfortable around Juan Carlos and he seemed too attentive to her. Well, now Juan Carlos is having his say. He’s written a book and he took a moment to insult Diana.
King Juan Carlos, the former monarch of Spain, is opening up about rumors that he seduced Princess Diana in a new memoir. Juan Carlos, 87, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates for the last five years after abdicating the throne in 2014, opens up about his rise to power, reign and relationships in a forthcoming book, titled Reconciliation, which is set to be published in France on Nov. 5.
Despite his reputation as a womanizer, the former King denied having an affair with the late Princess Diana in his new memoir, according to a preview of the book published by The Telegraph this week.
In the book, Juan Carlos unfavorably describes Diana as “cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi.”
Rumors about the two first started swirling when Diana and then-Prince Charles, along with their sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, vacationed at the Marivent Palace, the Spanish royal family’s summer home in Palma de Mallorca, for three consecutive summers between 1986 and 1989. Along with other royals, like King Constantine of Greece and their families, Juan Carlos and Diana were frequently photographed enjoying the sun on his royal yacht, Fortuna, and basking in the Spanish summer.
Given Juan Carlos’ reputation and the well-known tension in Diana’s marriage, largely due to Charles’ long-running affair with then-Camilla Parker Bowles, it was easy for rumors to spread. Diana never addressed them publicly, but she did tell biographer Andrew Morton that she found the Spanish King “a little too attentive.”
“I felt uncomfortable being left alone with him in a room, although I can assure you that nothing happened,” the Princess told friends of the King — whom she referred to as “a very libidinous man” — after a visit to Mallorca, according to Morton’s book Ladies of Spain.
“Cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi…” Sounds more like he absolutely hit on her and she turned him down. While I have no doubt that Diana could be quite neurotic at times, literally no one ever called her cold or taciturn. She was full of life, warm, vivacious. Men loved her. Of course Juan Carlos tried something. I hope Diana told him to go home to his wife.
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