# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/juan-carlos-i-of-spain
# Generated: 2026-08-31T15:50:44.040Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/juan-carlos-i-of-spain"
name: "Juan Carlos I of Spain"
slug: "juan-carlos-i-of-spain"
description: "He was handpicked by Franco to preserve a dictatorship, then spent his first years as king quietly dismantling it — until scandals over elephant hunts and Saudi money sent him into exile from the country he'd steered back to democracy."
tagline: "King of Spain from 1975 to 2014"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Rey_Juan_Carlos_2013.jpg?width=1200"
gender: "male"
country:
  name: "Spain"
  isoCode: "ES"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1938-01-05"
livingStatus: "LIVING"
scores:
  popularity:           77.02
  momentum:             15.7168274097828
  historical:           30.364368
  currentAttention:     1.035714285714286
  sourceConfidence:     65
  profileCompleteness:  75
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  44
  category: 36
tags:
  - name: "Business Professionals"
    slug: "business-professionals"
  - name: "Historical Figure"
    slug: "historical-figure"
  - name: "Royalty"
    slug: "royalty"
  - name: "Spain"
    slug: "spain"
  - name: "Europe"
    slug: "europe"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
platforms:
  - platform:  "IMDB"
    url:       "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0207526/"
    handle:    "nm0207526"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19943"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I_of_Spain"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Juan%20Carlos%20I%20of%20Spain"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iohannes_Carl_I_Spena_Cyning"
    title: "Iohannes Carl I Spena Cyning"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuan-Carlos_I_d'Espanya"
    title: "Chuan-Carlos I d'Espanya"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D9%88%D9%84"
    title: "خوان كارلوس الأول"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%83%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%89_%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83_%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%8A%D8%A7"
    title: "خوان كارلوس الاولانى ملك اسبانيا"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuan_Carlos_I_d'Espa%C3%B1a"
    title: "Xuan Carlos I d'España"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C%D9%86%D8%AC%DB%8C_%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A2%D9%86_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B3_(%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B3%D9%BE%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7)"
    title: "بیرینجی خوآن کارلوس (ایسپانیا)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Xuan_Karlos"
    title: "I Xuan Karlos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bat_smg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuans_Karluosos_I"
    title: "Chuans Karluosos I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bcl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I"
    title: "Juan Carlos I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be_x_old.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D1%83%D0%B0%D0%BD-%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D1%8F%D1%81_I"
    title: "Хуан-Карляс I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D1%83%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81_I"
    title: "Хуан Карлас I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A5%D1%83%D0%B0%D0%BD_%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%BE%D1%81_I"
    title: "Хуан Карлос I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_Ia%C3%B1"
    title: "Juan Carlos Iañ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos%2C_kralj_%C5%A0panije"
    title: "Juan Carlos, kralj Španije"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Carles_I_d'Espanya"
    title: "Joan Carles I d'Espanya"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ckb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AE%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86_%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%84%DB%86%D8%B3%DB%8C_%DB%8C%DB%95%DA%A9%DB%95%D9%85"
    title: "خوان کارلۆسی یەکەم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I."
    title: "Juan Carlos I."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I%2C_brenin_Sbaen"
    title: "Juan Carlos I, brenin Sbaen"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_af_Spanien"
    title: "Juan Carlos af Spanien"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I."
    title: "Juan Carlos I."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A7%CE%BF%CF%85%CE%AC%CE%BD_%CE%9A%CE%AC%CF%81%CE%BB%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%91%CE%84_%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%99%CF%83%CF%80%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%82"
    title: "Χουάν Κάρλος Α΄ της Ισπανίας"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I"
    title: "Juan Carlos I"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joan_Carles_I_d'Espanya"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://cs.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I."
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://de.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_I._(Spanien)"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://es.wikiquote.org/wiki/Juan_Carlos_de_Borb%C3%B3n"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://eu.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joan_Karlos_I.a_Espainiakoa"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born in Rome in 1938 while Spain's royal family lived in exile, Juan Carlos returned at nine and was groomed by Franco, who in 1969 bypassed the boy's liberal father and named him successor. He became king in November 1975, and instead of preserving the regime, pushed through democratic reforms that led to the 1978 constitution restoring constitutional monarchy. In 1981 he personally blocked a military coup attempting to restore Franco's order. By 2008 he was Ibero-America's most popular leader, but the shine wore off: a 2012 elephant-hunting trip during Spain's financial collapse, then mounting family scandals, corroded his standing. He abdicated in June 2014 in favour of his son Felipe VI, and in 2020 left Spain altogether over allegations of Saudi business entanglements, his fortune estimated near two billion dollars.