King Juan Carlos, the monarch who led Spain’s transition to democracy, will abandon the country, according to a letter to his son, King Felipe.
Authorities in Spain and Switzerland are investigating money King Juan Carlos is said to have received from the Saudi king.
Millions of dollars from Don Juan Carlos also ended up in the hands of Corinna Larsen, a businesswoman and socialite with whom King Juan Carlos had a close freindship.
King Juan Carlos was immune from prosecution but gave up his involability when he abdicated. The limits of his immunity during office are also in question.
Don Juan Carlos has not been indicted for any crimes and sources close to the former head-of-state say he did nothing illegal.
But King Felipe has formally resigned any inheritance from his father earlier this year. Don Felipe has also been under pressure to kick his father out of Zarzuela Palace.
In the letter to his son, King Juan Carlos did not say where he was going, but said scrutiny into his private actions had contributed to his decision to leave.
King Juan Carlos was born in exile in Rome. He and his family engineered a return to Spain as a child. He then took over as monarch when dictator Francisco Franco died.
In 2014, amid financial crisis, scrutiny into his relationships and declining health, Don Juan Carlos abdicated the throne after almost 40 years.
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