MADRID – Spain’s King Emeritus Juan Carlos I has been granted immunity in the United Kingdom from the harassment lawsuit brought against him by his former mistress Corinna Larsen.
The British Court of Appeal has decided to grant said immunity for his actions before the British judiciary until his abdication on June 18, 2014.
Corinna sued him for the alleged harassment and espionage to which Juan Carlos subjected his ex-lover Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. Her lawyers argued that Juan Carlos did not enjoy immunity because he is no longer head of state.
With its ruling, however, the court recognised the appeal of the emeritus king to justify that his actions between April 2012 and 18 June 2014 did not belong to his private sphere. He is therefore granted immunity for that period. However, the trial against him can continue and be conducted based on his actions after his abdication. According to Corinna, the espionage and intimidation actions continued long after that.
Corinna’s demand to Juan Carlos I
Corinna sued Juan Carlos l and the Spanish National Investigation Service CNI in 2020 for the alleged continuous harassment and espionage to which they allegedly subjected her after breaking up their relationship in 2014. The purpose of that harassment was allegedly to discredit and prevent her from talking about their relationship.
Read also: Case of ex-girlfriend against Juan Carlos I in English court
According to the lawyers of the king’s ex-lover, Juan Carlos and the CNI repeatedly pressured and illegally followed her. Notably, because she refused to return the €65 million that the former Spanish king had “gifted” her earlier in 2012. According to Corinna, Juan Carlos I gave her the fortune “out of gratitude”, not to hide the money.
Juan Carlos is represented in London by the law firm Clifford Chance. The defence initially intended that the British court would not even recognise Corinna’s claim. The main argument that the United Kingdom has no jurisdiction over the Spanish monarch. In addition, the allegations would be very generic, as explained in 2001 by Spanish lawyer Javier Sánchez Junco.
The defence’s argument was based on the fact that the emeritus king enjoyed full immunity since the alleged events allegedly took place in 2012.
Corinna: ‘He was obsessed with money’
In a recent podcast, Corinna Larsen describes previously unknown aspects of her relationship with the emeritus king. The sentimental relationship with the monarch began during a hunt in Castilla-La Mancha. She was introduced as a weapons expert and the two began a discreet relationship ever since. However, it came to light when Juan Carlos had an accident during a hunting holiday in Botswana, which broke his hip. Eventually, this also ended the relationship with Corinna and led to a lawsuit in London.
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“The true Juan Carlos is used to insane levels of wealth, so much so that he needs it now. Where all that wealth goes is another question. Once in his possession and thanks to unparalleled talent, he can make it disappear. It is not always in the bank accounts of Don Juan Carlos. The tax authorities in Spain can find absolutely nothing there,” Corinna explains in the episode.
She also tells about the king’s money that he brought from travels in sacks that he gave to friends. And responding to her surprise at this, the king told her that she was being very dramatic and did not know how Spain worked.
