For years, Juan Carlos I has been at the center of headlines that have shaken the foundations of the monarchy. However, there have been few instances of such a direct attack as the one recently made by José Manuel Villarejo, the former commissioner turned best-selling author.
In the midst of the Madrid Book Fair, Villarejo reignited the controversy by stating that his former royal boss let himself be guided by advisors of little reliability. What exactly did he mean? Why this message in the middle of June?
Villarejo's book
On May 31, in Retiro Park, Villarejo presented “El Estado contra mí.” During the book signing at the Interleo publishing house's stand, he was asked about the current commotion between Juan Carlos I and Miguel Ángel Revilla, which provoked an unexpected reaction.
“Revilla seems to me a poor man[…]now he'll do well to live in the King's shadow, who made the mistake of continuing to be advised by that whole clique of buffoons who've complicated his life and made him go to Abu Dhabi. He could have been quietly in Spain,” said the former commissioner.
In that same intervention, he added that a “genius” among his circle leaked some of his audios, which would have precipitated Juan Carlos I's exile. The phrase resonated for its harshness: he directly accused the King's circle of having caused his departure to the emirate.
Silence from Zarzuela
Neither Zarzuela nor Juan Carlos I have issued an official response to these accusations. Miguel Ángel Revilla has also not taken the bait, which keeps the silence among one of the main protagonists of this dispute.
On the contrary, on social media and in outlets close to the Casa Real, some journalists point out that Villarejo is taking advantage of the media momentum of his new book to reopen old wounds, without providing additional evidence. One commentator noted in a tweet that the former commissioner presents nothing new and only limits himself to dropping “weighty phrases.”
Constant leaks against Juan Carlos I
This barrage doesn't appear in a vacuum. Since 2017, Villarejo has been linked to leaks about Juan Carlos I, such as the revelation of the famous “Soleado” account in Switzerland, linked to the monarch and later confessed by María Dolores de Cospedal.
In addition, his involvement in the “Carol” case within Operación Tándem—which investigates the financial ties between the emeritus King and Corinna Larsen—remains active. Let us recall that this major judicial case, opened in 2017, includes 47 cases on crimes such as money laundering, espionage, and criminal organization, and in July 2023 sentenced Villarejo to 19 years in prison for disclosure of secrets and forgery of documents.
The timing of these statements is not coincidental. The presentation of his book offers Villarejo the perfect stage to launch impactful headlines. Simultaneously, the media standoff between Juan Carlos I and Revilla has revived old tensions, providing the ideal breeding ground for the former commissioner to once again claim the center of the media spotlight.