Former Spanish King Juan Carlos probed in paternity claim

Spain’s Supreme Court has agreed to examine a paternity suit against former king Juan Carlos by a woman who claims to be his daughter, a judicial official said Wednesday. It is the first lawsuit to be allowed against Juan Carlos, 77, since he lost his total immunity when he abdicated last year, and the latest in a string of scandals to hit the Spanish monarchy. The case has been brought by Belgian housewife Ingrid Jeanne Sartiau.

Why don’t you shut up?

King Juan Carlos of Spain’s reasoned response to Hugo Chavez at a summit of Latin American and Iberian leaders in 2007

Juan Carlos lost his total immunity from court proceedings after he left the throne in June, dogged by scandals and weakened by health problems. He handed the crown to his son Felipe VI. A spokesman for the royal palace said it would make no comment on the matter. The court dismissed a second suit brought by a man claiming to be Juan Carlos’s son, Alberto Sola Jimenez, a Spanish waiter in his late 50s, the official said.

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