Spain’s former monarch, King Juan Carlos, has broken his silence on long-circulating rumors alleging an affair with the late Princess Diana — decades after the speculation first emerged.
The rumors date back to the 1980s, when Princess Diana and then-Prince Charles, along with their sons Prince William and Prince Harry, spent three consecutive summers (1986–1988) vacationing at the Spanish royal family’s Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca. During those visits, Diana and King Juan Carlos were often photographed together, including private moments aboard his royal yacht, fueling tabloid gossip across Europe.
Adding to the speculation were reports of Diana’s troubled marriage to Charles amid his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, and Juan Carlos’ well-known reputation as a womanizer.
Now, in his forthcoming memoir Reconciliation — set for release in France on November 5 — the 86-year-old former king categorically denies the affair rumors. According to excerpts published by The Telegraph, Juan Carlos described Princess Diana as “cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi.”
While Diana never publicly addressed the rumors, she once confided to biographer Andrew Morton that the Spanish king had been “a little too attentive.” Morton’s Ladies of Spain quotes Diana telling friends of Juan Carlos, “I felt uncomfortable being left alone with him in a room, although I can assure you that nothing happened.”
King Juan Carlos, who abdicated the Spanish throne in 2014, has lived in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates for the past five years following multiple scandals surrounding his personal and financial affairs. His new memoir marks the first time he has directly commented on one of the most persistent royal rumors of the late 20th century.
