Juan Carlos Denies Affair; Memoir Excerpts Published

Former King Juan Carlos, in excerpts from his memoir Reconciliation published in France on Nov. 5, denies having an affair with Princess Diana and describes her as "cold, taciturn, distant, except in the presence of the paparazzi." Rumors arose after Diana and then‑Prince Charles stayed at Juan Carlos’s Marivent Palace in Mallorca and spent time on his yacht during summers in the late 1980s and 1990. Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton is quoted saying she found the former king "a very libidinous man" and that she "felt uncomfortable being left alone with him... although I can assure you that nothing happened." Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, has lived in self‑imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates amid financial scandals, and his long‑standing reputation as a womaniser has kept such rumors in the public eye. The memoir excerpt has reignited debate about Diana’s troubled marriage, but no new evidence has emerged to substantiate an affair.