Downfall of a King
Juan Carlos of Spain
Will be published approx. on 18. June 2026
Book
Hardback
544 pages
978-0-00-874110-5 (ISBN)
Description
A riveting and deeply researched account of King Juan Carlos's epic fall from grace.
Paul Preston, the preeminent historian of modern Spain, here lays bare the complex web of financial and sexual excess that led to the hero's vertiginous downfall. For decades, King Carlos was immensely popular in Spain and much beloved - in part because of his courageous defence of Spanish democracy after Franco's death. However, his secrets' gradual exposure e was detonated in April 2012 by his appearance on television cameras as he left a Madrid hospital. An astonished nation heard him make a declaration unprecedented from the lips of any Spanish Head of State, royal or republican: 'I am very sorry. I have made a mistake and it will not happen again'.
Revelations that he had been badly injured while elephant hunting in Botswana accompanied by a woman who was not his wife opened the floodgates to prurient research into his marital infidelities. From there, it was a short step to journalistic, followed by judicial, investigation into his financial misdemeanours. The consequent accumulation of hostile coverage culminated in his abdication on 2 June 2014 and, from August 2020, a gilded exile in Abu Dhabi.
Paul Preston's spectacular biography tells the story of the King's very public implosion and identifies the seeds of self-destruction in Juan Carlos's unhappy childhood and upbringing. In so doing, Preston also throws a penetrating light on the massive scale of corruption within the Spanish establishment and sets the King's downfall against Spain's own identity crisis as it continues to grapple with its fascist past.
Paul Preston, the preeminent historian of modern Spain, here lays bare the complex web of financial and sexual excess that led to the hero's vertiginous downfall. For decades, King Carlos was immensely popular in Spain and much beloved - in part because of his courageous defence of Spanish democracy after Franco's death. However, his secrets' gradual exposure e was detonated in April 2012 by his appearance on television cameras as he left a Madrid hospital. An astonished nation heard him make a declaration unprecedented from the lips of any Spanish Head of State, royal or republican: 'I am very sorry. I have made a mistake and it will not happen again'.
Revelations that he had been badly injured while elephant hunting in Botswana accompanied by a woman who was not his wife opened the floodgates to prurient research into his marital infidelities. From there, it was a short step to journalistic, followed by judicial, investigation into his financial misdemeanours. The consequent accumulation of hostile coverage culminated in his abdication on 2 June 2014 and, from August 2020, a gilded exile in Abu Dhabi.
Paul Preston's spectacular biography tells the story of the King's very public implosion and identifies the seeds of self-destruction in Juan Carlos's unhappy childhood and upbringing. In so doing, Preston also throws a penetrating light on the massive scale of corruption within the Spanish establishment and sets the King's downfall against Spain's own identity crisis as it continues to grapple with its fascist past.
Reviews / Votes
Praise for A People Betrayed (2020): A Financial Times Best History Book of the Year 'For decades, Paul Preston has been one of the English-speaking world's premier historians of modern Spain. His latest book, dealing with the controversial topic of corruption in Spanish politic, public administration and business, is particularly good on the Franco dictatorship and post-Franco democratic era' Financial Times 'Fascinating ... The depth of the book's research cannot be faulted and the examples of grand malfeasance and political corruption are extraordinary ... Buried in the narrative lies ample treasure ... I applauded Preston's heroic feat.' Times 'Tremendously rich and learned ... Preston is one of Britain's finest historians ... This book, massively researched ... Powerful, persuasive and utterly fascinating - makes for harrowing reading' Sunday Times 'A magisterial study of [Spain's] turbulent past, seen through the optic of those apparently ineradicable twins: corruption and political incompetence ... Races along in a riveting fashion, replete with eye-catching and often blackly humorous anecdotes ...Preston's narrative combines his gift for cogent, summarising clarity and for telling details ...Preston has written an admirable book - a lively, comprehensive history of modern Spain.' GuardianMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 159 mm
Thickness: 52 mm
Weight
820 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-00-874110-5 (9780008741105)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
approx. 06/2026
William Collins
€20.99
Not yet available
Person
SIR PAUL PRESTON CBE is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and was previously a lecturer at the University of Reading and Professor of Modern History at Queen Mary University of London. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and holds the Marcel Proust Chair of the European Academy of Yuste. He has been awarded honorary doctorates by universities in Spain and the UK. In 2006, he was awarded the International Ramon Llull Prize by the Catalan Government and, in 2018, the Guernica Peace Prize. Among his many works are Franco: A Biography, Comrades, Doves of War: Four Women of Spain, Juan Carlos, The Spanish Civil War, The Spanish Holocaust, The Last Stalinist, The Last Days of the Spanish Republic and A People Betrayed. In Spain, he was appointed a Comendador de la Orden del Merito Civil in 1986 and awarded, in 2007, the Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Catolica. He lives in London.