Spain’s Supreme Court will examine one of two paternity suits against former King Juan Carlos, it was reported this week.
On January 14, the court announced that it will hear the case of Belgian housewife Ingrid Jeanne Sartiau, born in 1966, who claims that King Juan Carlos is her father.
It is the first lawsuit to be brought against Juan Carlos, 77, who lost his total immunity from prosecution when he abdicated in favor of his son Felipe in 2014.
A spokesman for the royal palace declined to comment, saying only that it respected the judiciary’s independence.
The court dismissed a second paternity suit lodged by Spanish waiter Alberto Solá Jiménez, 58, who claims to be King Juan Carlos’s son. A court official told AP that Alberto Solá Jimenez’s claim lacked legal basis.
Alberto Solá Jimenez has claimed that his mother, the daughter of a well-known Barcelona banker, may have had an affair with King Juan Carlos before he married Queen Sofia.
Ingrid Jeanne Sartiau and Alberto Sola Jimenez joined forces in 2012 and underwent DNA tests that showed there was a 91% chance that they had a parent in common.
Their bid to make King Juan Carlos take a paternity test at the time failed due to his protection from prosecution as a serving monarch.
The reign of King Juan Carlos was marred in later years by a series of scandals, including an extravagant elephant-hunting trip to Botswana during the economic recession.
Juan Carlos’ youngest daughter, Princess Cristina, is due to stand trial on charges of tax fraud following a long-running corruption scandal.
Infanta Cristina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin, who is accused of embezzling public funds, both deny any wrongdoing.
King Felipe VI has been trying to clean up the image of the Royal institution and restore its waning popularity.
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