Royals The royal wedding of Juan Carlos of
Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was a giant event back on May 14th of 1962,
in Athens. The wedding was a huge merge between two world superpowers, leading some to speculate
whether this was a marriage of love or power. Let’s fast forward a few decades. Juan Carlos and
German aristocrat Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, are both gun enthusiasts. They met at a shooting
party in February 2004. The King was having trouble with his shotgun, so Corinna helped him.
Corinna was a business consultant born in Denmark and raised in Germany. She was previously married
to Prince Casimir zu Sayn-Wittgenstein of Germany, her second husband, but they split in 2005. She
opted to keep the name and the princess title. Secret Affair
They had an instant connection. Juan Carlos called Corinna up to ten times a day. She met his
friends; he met her children. They were both very busy people, but they found time to meet in Madrid
and spend time together. Their relationship lasted from 2004 to 2009, but the Spanish public knew
nothing about it, believing he was happily married to Queen Sophia. Previous premonitions about the
royal, and possibly faux, love between King Carlos and Queen Sophia were seemingly confirmed by the
King when he told his mistress, Corinna, that he and the Queen had an arrangement to represent the
crown. However, they led totally separate lives. Juan Carlos had established strong support from
the Spanish people as the head of state after dictator Francisco Franco died in 1975. He
oversaw Spain's transition to democracy after the dark years of the Spanish civil war. Three days
before Spain's general elections in 2004, Al Qaeda directed a series of train bombings on a commuter
train system in Madrid. Juan Carlos responded to the tragedy, attended the vigils, and became a
symbol of empathy, leadership, and strength at a vulnerable time in Spain. At the same time,
Juan Carlos's and Corinna's love was blossoming. In 2008, at the height of their relationship,
Spain entered an economic recession alongside the rest of the world. Unemployment was at a
staggering 23%, and the Spanish population would have lost their mind if they found out
about Carlos' love affair. They starved while he showered his mistress in luxurious gifts.
In 2009, King Juan Carlos visited Corinna's father and told him of his intention to marry
her. He told Corinna's father that things were complicated and would take some time,
but ultimately wanted him to know that he was very serious about Corinna. Some say
that the King even consulted a divorce attorney about ending his 40-year marriage to the Queen.
Corinna was an experienced political strategist and foresaw the downfall of her relationship with
the King. She predicted that their relationship could seriously damage his reputation as King
and destabilize the monarchy. That same year, Corinna's father was diagnosed with pancreatic
cancer and only had a few months to live. She decided to end her relationship with
the King to spend time with her father. Juan Carlos shocked Corinna with more terrible news
after her father's funeral. He had been in a three-year relationship with another woman,
in addition to his relationship with her and his marriage to the Queen.
Corinna mourned the loss of her father and the betrayal of her ex. She was under the impression
that she was in a monogamous relationship with the King... aside from Queen Sophia,
that is. Corinna was devastated and could never forgive him. That's where the story should end,
but it doesn't. Scorned
Though the relationship was over, the pair remained friends. Juan Carlos contacted
Corinna because he was diagnosed with a tumor that he believed was cancerous.
Corinna stayed close to him as he navigated his health issues and even slept on the couch next to
his hospital bed before surgery. Thankfully, the biopsy showed that the tumor was benign. During
this time, Queen Sophia realized how much the King emotionally relied on Corinna and directed staff
to keep her at a distance. Tensions rose between Corinna and the royal family. Juan Carlos's staff
asked Corina to leave the hospital. After he was released, however, Corinna continued to visit him
as he recovered in Madrid. Saudi Consortium
The King brokered a deal with Saudi Arabia to establish a consortium dedicated to building
a holy train line connecting Medina to Mecca to minimize travel time for Muslims on their annual
pilgrimage to Mecca. A consortium is an agreement between two or more parties who decide to pool
their resources to pursue a common goal. The Saudi Railways Organization awarded $9.4 billion to the
Saudi-Spanish Al-Shoula consortium to start the next phase of the high-speed railway project. The
partnership involved 12 Spanish companies and two Saudi companies. The project experienced delays,
and the Saudi government threatened the Spanish railway project to speed up production or halt
the project. Saudi King Abdullah transferred $100 million to a Panama-based offshore fund
controlled by King Carlos. Both the Saudi and Spanish kings were investigated for
crimes related to this payment. King Abdullah defended it as a thank you gift to Juan Carlos
for organizing a religious understanding conference in Madrid. But it gets weirder.
Closer During his relationship with Corinna,
the King established a close relationship with her children. For her son's 10th birthday in 2012,
the King took Corinna and her children on a safari in Botswana. Though it was presented as a birthday
present for her son, Corinna believed this was the King's attempt to rekindle their romantic
relationship. On April 11, 2012, Juan Carlos shot an elephant dead on the safari. He was proud of
this and even took several photos with the deceased animal in front of horrified onlookers.
The public was not happy about the elephant hunt. Even fellow hunting-enthusiast Corinna
said she would never kill an elephant. The King also fell and fractured his hip during this trip.
The Botswana trip brought much of the monarch's corruption and dishonesty into the limelight—his
unfaithfulness to Queen Sophia, unnecessary luxury trips during an economic recession,
and visits to countries where Spain had no diplomatic representation.
Various corruption cases into the King's son-in-law and daughter were already underway,
so a magnifying glass on the royal family only increased after the ill-fated Botswana trip.
Remember that 100 million Euro gift from Saudi Arabia? Well, now that Juan Carlos was under
the microscope after the Botswana trip scandal, it became public knowledge that King Carlos had
transferred what remained of that 100 million Euro "gift" to Corinna. Soon after undergoing
tumor surgery, he was thinking about who he wanted to benefit from his will. He promised to take care
of Corinna and her children but feared that the royal family would not honor his wishes.
This shady deal between Saudi Arabia and Spain was then partially transferred to Corinna—and
by partially, we mean 65 million Euros. The transfer caused intelligence officials to believe
the King was involved in money laundering or was perhaps trying to hide the money.
Further investigations into Corinna began. She argued that the money was
gifted out of nothing but love. The Spanish people were outraged,
as all of this came to light while Spain was amidst another economic downturn from Covid-19.
Corinna claimed that harassment against her escalated. She was advised not to speak to
the press regarding her ex-relationship with the King or the funds he transferred
to her. The Spanish Supreme Court opened an investigation into King Juan Carlos as well.
In 2014, King Juan Carlos abdicated the throne and was succeeded by his son Felipe. His abdication
meant losing immunity to prosecution, but he was still responsible for attending official
engagements, trade trips, and travel to the Middle East. The Spanish Supreme Court
could only investigate wrongdoings that took place after his 2014 abdication.
Recorded A Spanish police officer had recorded
his conversations with wealthy aristocrats, including a woman believed to be Corinna. In the
leaked audio recordings, the woman mentioned that King Juan Carlos would often go to Arab countries
and return with suitcases full of money—sometimes up to five million dollars in cash. She claimed
that she saw this money personally and witnessed the King using a machine to count it all. These
recordings became the crux for the investigations opened by Swiss and Spanish prosecutors into the
King. The King later admitted that he left Spain and was living in the United Arab Emirates.
Boiling Point Things got hotter when Corinna decided to sue her
ex-lover, the King, over harassment and unlawful surveillance from Spain's CNI, the National
Intelligence Center. She filed a restraining order that forbade the King from contacting her or
coming within 150 meters of her. The King demanded that the $100 million "gift" transferred to her be
returned to him, but Corinna refused, causing the King to publicly state that she had "stolen it."
One lawyer began a petition for the cash to be transferred to the Spanish public healthcare
system to benefit healthcare workers who were working overtime for minimum pay during the
Covid-19 pandemic. Corinna responded, saying she'd leave it up to the Swiss prosecutor.
She believed that Spain's National Intelligence Center orchestrated the ongoing investigation
and public interest in her personal life and finances under the King's guidance.
An English judge investigating Corinna's claims of harassment asked the Spanish monarchy to
decide whether Juan Carlos is still considered part of the royal family despite abdication.
This will determine whether he has immunity against prosecution. Corinna argues that she
experienced threats, allegations, and harassment over the funds that were "irrevocably" transferred
to her from the King. She says that this has led to deteriorating personal relationships,
a need for medical treatment, and immense profitability loss to her business. If the
monarchy confirms that Juan Carlos is still a member of the royal family,
he will enjoy diplomatic immunity that will prevent him from facing intense consequences. As
of Summer 2021, Corinna still possessed the money transferred to her by her ex-royal-ex-boyfriend.
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And let us know in the comment section if Corinna should give the money back or not!