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    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    Former King of Spain Makes Bombshell Statement About His "Personal Disagreement" With Daughter-in-Law Queen Letizia

    King Juan Carlos has long been rumored to be distant with King Felipe's wife.

    Kristin Contino#039;s avatar
    By Kristin Contino
    Published 30 October 2025 In News

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    Queen Letizia wearing a mint dress smiling next to King Juan Carlos
    (Image credit: Getty Images)
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    King Juan Carlos, the former king of Spain, is sharing the story behind his controversial exit from royal life in a new memoir, Reconciliation, which will be published in France on November 5. Along with addressing affair rumors surrounding himself and Princess Diana, the self-exiled royal also opens up about his strained relationship with daughter-in-law Queen Letizia.

    According to Spanish media outlet El Confidencial, the former king writes that he has a "personal disagreement" with Letizia, who is married to his son, King Felipe. "She did not help to strengthen our family ties," he writes in the memoir. King Juan Carlos—who moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2020 following a disastrous financial scandal—does not elaborate on the nature of their dispute, but the admission should come as no surprise to royal watchers.

    It's long been rumored that Queen Letizia doesn't get along with her in-laws, but this is the first time a member of the Spanish royal family has publicly confirmed the "disagreement."

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    King Juan Carlos in a gray suit, standing next to Queen Letizia wearing a red coat

    Queen Letizia is seen with her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos, in 2017.

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    King Juan Carlos and Queen Letizia standing in front of a mural

    Letizia is pictured with King Juan Carlos in 2005.

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    The 87-year-old former monarch lives in Abu Dhabi, while the rest of his family continues to reside in Madrid.

    Despite the fact they live in different countries, King Juan Carlos is still married to Queen Sofia, who Letizia is also rumored to not get on with, as displayed in a tense Easter moment that went viral in 2018. Over the years, reports have indicated that Letizia has disagreed with her mother-in-law about the upbringing of her two daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, with the former queen allegedly pushing for the girls to take more of a public role.

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    According to El Confidencial, "King Juan Carlos appears in the book as an exiled and isolated man, whose words reveal a nostalgia for a past in which his authority and his family lived under the same roof."

    Marie Claire Newsletter

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    Kristin Contino
    Kristin Contino
    Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

    Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

    Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

    Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.

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