The emeritus king Juan Carlos I has recognized this Saturday that he committed "errors" during his 40 years of reign, although he has also highlighted his "achievements", and has admitted that, upon observing Spain "from afar", he is "aware" that "no one is a prophet in their own land".
This is how he/she spoke during his/her intervention in the National Assembly of France, on the occasion of the awarding of the Special Prize for the Political Book granted by the association 'Lire la sociéte' to 'Reconciliation', his/her memoirs written together with author Laurence Debray.
"Since I was little my destiny and my vocation has been to serve my people", he affirmed, before pointing out that he follows Spanish current events from "afar" -he resides in Abu Dhabi since 2020- and that, although the present does not "worry him", on occasion it does "sadden him". "I see the present of my people, I am aware that no one is a prophet in their own land and that there are also different opinions and judgments about almost everything", added the father of Felipe VI.
During the event, in which he was accompanied by his daughters Elena and Cristina, as well as by his grandson Felipe Juan Froilán, and with the assistance of Debray, the former monarch explained that his father advised him not to write an autobiography. However, he decided not to follow that recommendation considering that a figure with a "public dimension as marked as that of a political man" should offer his version of events "in the first person".
In this regard, he has indicated that there remained "hundreds of words" to write about his time as head of state, which led him to assume that "risk". In his opinion, the decision has been correct, in view of the good editorial reception of the work both in France and in Spain, where he believes there is interest in knowing his trajectory, especially his role in the recovery of democracy after the Franco dictatorship.
"I am legitimately proud of the emotions, feelings and hopes that belong to my personal history. Of the weaknesses and errors that I may have committed as a human being and I cannot feel proud, but all this is part of my life and I feel that it can be publicly shared in complete freedom. This is what I have done and I am very proud of it", Juan Carlos I has concluded.
