Ancestry of Juan Carlos I of Spain Ancestry of Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos reigned as the King of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. He was born in Rome on 5 January 1938, where his family was living in exile after proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic. He is the father of the current King, Felipe VI. This table sets out the ancestry of Juan Carlos I for five generations, numbered according to the "ahnentafel" genealogical numbering system. Juan Carlos is a patrilineal member of the Spanish House of Bourbon, the senior branch of the House of Bourbon, itself originally a branch
Monarchy of Spain himself in the foot during target practice at his father’s estate, echoing a similar but far more serious gun accident involving the king in 1956. According to historians, the then 18-year-old Juan Carlos was cleaning a revolver when he accidentally shot to death his 14-year-old brother Alfonso. Also in 2012, the monarchy was seen as out-of-touch during the financial crisis as the king went on a hunting safari in Botswana while Spanish citizens suffered crippling unemployment and austerity measures at home. Furthermore, sporting a hunting vest and rifle the king was photographed over a dead elephant propped against a tree.