"A newly published memoir by Spain's disgraced former king chronicle his anointment as heir to the dictator Francisco Franco, his role in saving democracy from a coup attempt in 1981 and his grief at the death of his younger brother when the two were playing with a pistol as teenagers. The book, published 11 years after Juan Carlos' abdication and exile, is titled Reconciliation, but"
"Referring to his role in defending Spain's transition to democracy in the face of the 1981 attempted coup led by Lieutenant-general Antonio Tejero, he wrote: I gave freedom to the Spanish people by establishing democracy but I was never able to enjoy that freedom for myself. Now that my son has turned his back on me out of duty, now that those who call themselves my friends have turned their backs on me, I realise that I have never been free."
"The former king was born in exile in Italy in 1938 during the Spanish civil war. Aged 10 he was summoned to Spain by Franco, who groomed him to be his successor. I respected him enormously, appreciated his intelligence and political sense, Juan Carlos said of Franco. In the 500-page book, published in French on Wednesday and in Spanish next month, he recalls sitting beside Franco as the ailing dictator lay dying in his hospital bed."
Juan Carlos describes being summoned to Spain at age ten and groomed by Francisco Franco to be his successor. He recounts sitting beside Franco as the dictator lay dying and recalls Franco asking him to keep the country united. He asserts a central role in defending Spain's transition to democracy during the 1981 attempted coup. He relates the accidental death of his 14-year-old brother while cleaning a pistol. He expresses feelings of abandonment and misunderstanding by his son King Felipe VI, other family members, and his nation, and says he gave freedom to Spaniards but never enjoyed freedom personally.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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