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HM King Juan Carlos was born on January 5th, 1938 in Rome, where the Royal Family was living, having been forced to leave their country when the Spanish Republic was proclaimed in 1931. His father, Don Juan de Borbon y Battenberg, Count of Barcelona and Head of the Spanish Royal Household, insisted that he was educated in Spain, which he visited for the first time at the age of ten. His mother was Maria de las Mercedes of Borbon and Orleans.
His Majesty completed the San Isidro School in Madrid, and in 1955 began his studies at the Academies and Military Colleges of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. He then completed his education at Madrid's Complutense University, where he studied Political and International Law, Economics and Public Finances.
On May 14th, 1962, he married HRH Princess Sofia of Greece, the eldest daughter of King Paul I and Queen Frederica, in Athens. The Prince and Princess took up residence at Zarzuela Palace, on the outskirts of Madrid, where they continue to live today. The first of their three children, HRH Princess Elena, was born in 1963, followed by HRH Princess Cristina two years later, and HRH Prince Felipe in 1968.
His designation in 1969 as future successor to the Head of State marked the beginning of a period of official activities, trips in Spain and visits to foreign countries.
Following the death of the previous Head of State, Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was proclaimed King on November 22nd, 1975, and made his first speech to the nation in the Cortes (the Spanish Parliament). In it he set forth the basic principles of his reign, which were to re-establish democracy and be the King of all Spaniards, without exception.
The transition to democracy, piloted by a new team, started with the Political Reform Act of 1976. In May 1977, the Count of Barcelona passed on his dynastic rights and his title as Head of the Royal House of Spain to the King, in a ceremony that embodied the fulfilment of the role of the Crown in the return of democracy.
One month later the first democratic elections since 1936 were held, and the new Parliament drew up the text of the present Constitution which was adopted by referendum on December 6, 1978 and sanctioned by King Juan Carlos at a solemn ceremony at the Cortes Generales on the 27th of the same month and year.
The Constitution establishes a parliamentary monarchy as the political form of state in which the King arbitrates and oversees the proper working of the institutions. In his message to the Cortes, King Juan Carlos explicitly proclaimed his resolution to abide by it and serve it. Indeed, it was the King's actions that saved the Constitution and democracy during the night of February 23rd 1981, when the other Constitutional powers were held captive in the Parliament building during an attempted 'coup d'etat'.
His pro-European profile and his role in the reestablishment of democracy in Spain have been recognized through the awarding of many international prizes. He has also received Honorary Doctorates from about thirty prestigious Spanish and foreign universities.
Through the various foundations of which he is Honorary President, King Juan Carlos personally supports the development of new technologies in Spain, and encourages many initiatives in the areas of the economy and business, research, social advances and the development of Spanish life in its most varied forms.
An assiduous sportsman, King Juan Carlos specially enjoys skiing and sailing, and supports them as a form of training of undoubted social value. The presence of the Royal Family of Spain and their encouragement of the Spanish Olympic teams is constant, and was of particular importance during the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992.
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