The Congress of Deputies is defined as the lower house of the Cortes. So it doesn’t sound like an actual constitutional amendment is needed, but some kind of special law has to be promulgated. I think a constitutional amendment would be needed, though, if they were to give Infanta Leonor the position of Princess of Asturias and not just “heir presumptive.”
Only the British Parliament had to, and only Ireland opted out from that to enact its own binding legislation. Canada and South Africa later enacted ceremonial abdication acts, but they were legally meaningless and several months late.
James II was deemed to have abandoned the throne and abdicated. Elizabeth II will not abdicate because her uncle’s abdication was such a terrible imposition on her father. He actually did a much better job than David could possibly have done because he took it seriously.
Elizabeth II is scaling back her duties because of her age. I suspect that Charles will become regent within the next few years.
I think you’re a male. Almost half the population cares more about not running grooves in their own ceilings (or at least running them discreetely) than about some big cute animals that are supposed to be getting culled anyway. And “the king wastes money” isn’t exactly news, with what he spends in cars that he’s not supposed to run at the speeds for which they were designed we could tear down Marina D’Or and replace it with something that fire ladders can reach.
There have been “the king’s blondes” since prince Juan Carlos became king Juan Carlos*, and there have always been women whose worst opinion of Sofia is “and she had to go and fall in love with that imbecile.”
Not as far as I know. And we have a little terminology problem here (one about which I’ve had discussions in these boards previously): in Spanish legal terminology, a heir is presumptive until the very instant he takes the inheritance; if Felipe died in a car crash on his way to the ceremony he would have died being his father’s pressumptive heir, but not having inherited, not being (again, Spanish legal terminology) his heir. The titles of Prince of Asturias, Gerona and Viana are given to a prince that’s been confirmed as being his father’s desired heir rather than merely “the first person in line”, but if you look at any documents from the Royal House or Spanish Government, they’ll still be considered “presumptive” - because they still haven’t inherited.
57.1 Semi-salic succesion. Leo is her father’s expected heir.
57.2: the Prince(ss) who’s expected to inherit shall hold the title of Prince(ss) of Asturias and all others traditionally linked to the heir of the Crown, from the moment of their birth or the moment in which they “are called” (i.e., recognized as first in line and apparently capable)
(The phrasing “príncipe” is non-exclusive by gender, as 57.1 already establishes it can be a Princess).
Leo does not automatically move from Infanta to Princesa, due to her age, but if her parents wish to have her named as heiress presumptive already, they can.
The current Spanish house is actually related to Prince Charles. One of Felipe’s ancestors married Victoria Eugenie, a daughter of Princess Beatrice and granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Poor woman was a carrier of hemophilia and had to have several male heirs before one survived. She was said to be quite pretty – blond and slim but did not have an easy life. Her husband despised her for the hemophilia and cheated on her all the time. She had to convert to Catholicism to marry him and got a lot of grief over it in England and not always a lot of trust from the Spaniards. A bomb actually exploded right next to her on her wedding day, nearly killing her and her spouse. The Spanish thought her cold and aloof. She and her husband were forced to abdicate before Juan Carlos was able to take back the throne with Franco’s agreement.
What exactly did Juan Carlos do to convince Franco (a very sharpe knife by all accounts ) that he would continue as Franco II not support democratic transitions.
I believe the monarch abdicating is a tradition, or at least that’s been the case for the last few, so it’s not a big deal. I don’t think it came as a surprise – it was pretty much expected. Liz, on the other hand, ain’t gonna step aside.
Juan Carlos’s grandmother. Most of their sons were either hemophiliacs or deaf mutes, except for Juan Carlos’s father, who was declared the heir. Only he wasn’t acceptable to Franco, so he stepped aside for his son. Little did Franco know…
(BTW, the Duchess of York named her daughters after Princess Beatrice and her daughter.)
Sofia is actually a direct descendant of Queen Victoria as well, through her eldest daughter Victoria. So Felipe is the great-great-great-great-great-grandchild through both parents.
The hemophilia in the royal families appears to have disappeared with the deaths of Gonzalo, Alfonso, and Tsarevich Alexei, but the elephant hunting scandal isn’t the first time Juan Carlos has shot something he wasn’t supposed to: he accidentally killed his 14-year-old brother in 1956. Oops.
Prince Charles is more closely related to them than that, as he and Queen Sofia are second cousins. Her paternal grandfather was the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle.
[QUOTE=Guinastasia]
Only he [Juan Carlos’s father] wasn’t acceptable to Franco, so he stepped aside for his son.
[/QUOTE]
Well, up to a point…
His father wasn’t at all happy when Juan Carlos was designated as Franco’s successor and he initially refused to renounce his own claim to the throne. It was only eighteen months after Juan Carlos had become king that Juan recognised him as such.
It is a Spanish idiom with a lost in translation meaning. King Juan Carlos apparently has been having affairs (this is not something my source of European and Spanish high class news, ¡Hola! discusses), and Nava mentions how that fact is more damning to him (in court of public opinion) than whether or not he hunts elephants.
