Spanish
Juan Carlos I stated in an interview broadcast this Wednesday on France 3 that when he was little "sometimes" he had "the impression of being like a ping pong ball" between Franco and his father, Juan de Borbón.
Asked if he ever felt he was the object of rivalries between his father and Franco, the king emeritus replied: "Yes, sometimes, I had the impression of being like a ping pong ball." Despite everything, he considered his life in Spain, away from his family to follow the training designed by Franco, as "normal at that time, because he was studying in Spain" and returned home during the Easter, summer, and Christmas holidays, he explained in the interview with French public television on the occasion of the publication of his memoir "Reconciliation" at the beginning of the month.You can also read: The Spanish government will remove ultra-processed foods from children's diets in hospitals
At 17 years old, when he began his military training, he was sure he would stay in Spain. And, later, when he was named as future king, he was clear that "the future had to be prepared and to wait calmly for the moment to arrive". "I think at that moment we had to accept what was happening and the situation in Spain. I had to accept things as they came," he stated. Regarding his father, he highlighted that he was "a fantastic advisor and a friend afterwards", in his adulthood as king. "I loved him very much, and I have a feeling that he has accompanied me ever since," he added. At his funeral, despite not being a king, Juan Carlos I decided that he should be buried in El Escorial because that is "where the kings" of Spain are, he pointed out.
