Spain’s exiled former King Juan Carlos spoke on Friday about his return to public life after avoiding a lawsuit filed by his ex-lover, who sued him in London for harassment, News.ro reported with reference on AFP. .

Corinna tsu Sain-Wittgenstein-Sain, who was Juan Carlos’ mistress between 2004 and 2009, is seeking £126m (€146m) for psychological damage she says she suffered.

In October 2020, she filed a harassment claim in London, where she lived. But in a written statement of her decision, Judge Rowena Collins Rice concluded that “the High Court of England and Wales has no jurisdiction to entertain” the proceedings. In particular, she noted that the applicant had “insufficiently proved” that the events giving rise to her complaint had taken place in England.

Also known as Corinna Larsen, the 50-year-old Danish businesswoman claims she was spied on and harassed for eight years at the behest of Spain’s former monarch after they broke up in 2012. According to the complaint, she and her children were threatened.

Juan Carlos would ask her to return gifts such as art, jewelry and money worth 65 million euros.

Their relationship became known in 2012, when the monarch suffered a hip fracture while on vacation in Botswana. The scandal, revealed against the background of record unemployment in Spain, caused outrage in his country.

The decision “restores the necessary conditions for new public appearances”, says the former king of Spain

Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 after a series of scandals, welcomed the London justice’s decision, which he said “confirms his innocence, no surprises”, even if it does not go to the heart of the case.

The 85-year-old former king explained that he “deliberately exercised the utmost caution during” the trial. But this decision “restores the necessary conditions for new public appearances,” he wrote in a press release issued by the Publicis agency on behalf of the former king.

In a statement, Corinna tsu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sain said she was “deeply disappointed” by the decision, finding it “demoralizing to see that victims of harassment often have difficulty accessing justice in the British system”. “The intimidation and harassment continues against me and my children and is aimed at my complete collapse,” she declared. “Juan Carlos has used all his arsenal to crush me and his power is immense,” she added, saying that “consider all options “. “.

In December, British justice granted the former king immunity until his abdication in 2014. But most of the events referred to by the plaintiff took place after that year.

Becoming head of state in 1975 after the death of dictator Franco, who had appointed him as his successor, Juan Carlos was hailed for decades for bringing democracy back to Spain. His popularity plummeted after personal scandals and revelations about his lavish lifestyle starting in 2012.

Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son Felipe VI, who distanced himself from him.