King Juan Carlos, the former monarch of Spain, has opened up about rumours that he seduced Princess Diana in a new memoir, sparking fury from her fans and reaction from royal experts and journalists in the United Kingdom. It transpires that while she loved Mallorca, as did the former Prince of Wales, King Charles III who liked to paint in various parts of the island, Lady Di was no great fan of the former king of Spain.
One her favourite photographs was taken during a visit to Mallorca as guests of the Spanish royals and featured in an exhibition which toured the world last year. The exhibition, Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition opened in London lasy May and was described “as a walk-through, photography exhibition that pairs a stunning, visual journey of her most recognisable and iconic photos with behind-the-scenes stories from her official photographers. Trace Diana’s emotional path through images and art installations, and remember the life of one of the most high-profile and loved royals in this unforgettable experience.” And the exhibition includes a photograph of Lady Di with Charles, William and Harry and the Spanish royals on the steps of Marivent Palace in Palma during an official visit to Mallorca in 1987.
However, despite all the smiles, 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, has opened up about his rise to power, reign and relationships in a forthcoming book, titled Reconciliation, which is set to be published in France on November. 5.
Despite his reputation as a womaniser, the former King denied having an affair with the late Princess Diana. In the book, Juan Carlos unfavorably describes Diana as “cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi." And fans of Princess Diana are up in arms over the claims.
According to Andrew Morton, her biographer, Diana was said to have been repulsed by the former king. According to Morton's book, Ladies of Spain, she told her friends following a visit to Mallorca: 'I felt uncomfortable being left alone with him in a room, although I can assure you that nothing happened.' King Carlos is said to have been such a womaniser that Spain's secret service was forced to inject him with female hormones to reduce his sex drive, as it was a 'problem for the state'.
But that did not put Lady Di off Mallorca. Diana's last visit to Mallorca was in November 1996 and she stayed at the Hotel La Residencia in Deya, which in those days was owned by her close friend, Sir Richard Branson. She arrived on the schedule flight from Heathrow walked through Palma airport (no special treatment) and boarded a private taxi which took her to Deya.
She was travelling with a friend. She spent three days at the Hotel. There were rumours that she would be joined by Dodi Al Fayed. It was even said that she was planning to buy a house on the island. But nothing. In the three days she never left the hotel. Why she came to Majorca in November in 1996 remains a mystery.
In the meantime, Prince William and his wife Kate won a privacy case against French magazine Paris Match for publishing paparazzi photographs of them and their children on a private holiday, a notice published in the magazine said on Thursday. William, the older son of King Charles and the heir to the throne, is known to fiercely defend his family's privacy when they are not at official engagements.
It is the second time the royal couple have successfully sued a French magazine after another one, Closer, published topless photos of Kate in 2012. Proceedings were launched against Paris Match, owned by French luxury group LVMH, in April, days after it published photographs of the family in the Alps. "The Prince and Princess of Wales are committed to protecting their private family time and ensuring that their children can grow up without undue scrutiny and interference," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said. Paris Match declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
The couple are known to want to give their three children - Princes George and Louis, aged 12 and 7, and Princess Charlotte, 10 - as normal an upbringing as possible. William, 43, has made no secret of his dislike of the media after his mother Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Her vehicle was speeding away from chasing paparazzi photographers.
He and Kate have also been the victims of phone hacking, according to court cases against newspapers in Britain. William settled a claim against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers in private. Paris Match published the judicial notice on Thursday, stating it had infringed on the family's private life and rights to their image. William and Kate's lawyers told the court the couple preferred the publication of the notice rather than any compensation.