The course the system of royal rule on the Iberian Peninsula has followed is dramatic indeed – from a worldwide monarchy in the 16th-17th centuries to a slow but inexorable decline in the next era. And it is not surprising because monarchy has always been the nucleus, the core of the country’s political structure. It was associated in the minds of the subjects with the principles of governmental setup, true faith, and national grandeur. Besides, the style and methods of ruling by Spanish sovereigns, from Ferdinand and Isabella (the late 15th century) to those of the early- and mid-20th century, were in fact never restricted by the “strict limits” of any constitution (the attempts to bring the rule of Spanish kings into line with the law and the constitution were short-lived and unsuccessful). So it is all the more instructive and telling that the Spanish monarchic system, revamped and restored on new specific foundations on the initiative of Caudillo Francisco Franco, became a powerful stabilizing factor, the “bulwark” of democracy in the country in the mid- and late 1970s (after the caudillo’s death). This was preceded by the proclamation of a republic in 1931, three years of a terrible civil war in 1936-39, and several decades of the authoritarian Francoist regime. This fact is worthy of a thorough analysis, but let us first make a brief excursus into history.
For centuries on end, the words “Spain” and “monarchy” were synonyms. The king was the supreme authority in the state (except for a short period of time in 1873-74), he appointed and dismissed officials and issued orders which all the subjects, without an exception, were to obey. He also wielded the supreme military, judicial, and ecclesiastical power. A host of kings – brilliant as well as mediocre – have ascended the Spanish throne in the pre-Habsburg period and during the reign of the Habsburgs (1516-1700) and the Bourbons (1700-1931 and from 1977 to the present day). But, irrespective of their ability to rule and personal traits, the prestige of monarchy as an institution was extremely high in society. The king was surrounded by an almost divine aureole, for he was considered the embodiment of the will of Providence itself.
Catholic religion was a spiritual basis of the monarchic system. The national unity of the Spanish was embodied in the ancient slogan: “God, Fatherland, King.” The Spanish version of Catholicism was based on the idea of a vertical hierarchal system that binds together all those living on Earth. But monarchic legitimacy in Spain entered the period of an acute crisis in the early 20th century. The monarchic leadership was often subjected to sharp criticism by liberal, socialist, and other social movements. The country became a place of chronic instability and never-ending political upheavals, it saw frequent military coups (pronunciamientos), with generals pushing the kings to the background and becoming the real rulers of the state. Court clans were entangled in a long-lasting struggle, and governments kept changing endlessly. Republican sentiments were spreading. In the Spanish elections on April 12, 1931, republicans won the vast majority of the votes in almost all the big and medium-size cities. On April 14, Spain was proclaimed a republic. King Alfonso XIII abandoned the country but did not abdicate the throne, expecting to get back to power in the future.
Monarchy really came back 44 years later after the civil war and the rule of Caudillo Franco (this particular title can be interpreted as “regent of a temporarily missing monarch” or as “president”). What is more, it is Alfonso XIII’s grandson Juan Carlos de Borbon who mounted the throne. He was the king from 1975 until 2004, when he voluntarily abdicated in favor of his son, the current King Felipe VI. How did it happen? Franco’s victory in the civil war in 1939 aroused hopes (fueled by the caudillo himself) for a speedy comeback of “traditional” monarchy. But events did not take a traditional course. The question of the form of government in Spain remained open for rather a long time (1939-47). Franco “was making his choice.” Meanwhile, Alfonso XIII died in exile, and his only legally capable son Don Juan, the Count of Barcelona, turned out to be an extremely ambitious person who literally demanded that Franco “present” him with the crown as soon as possible. (The elder heir, also Don Alfonso, died in a road accident, and the middle one, Don Jaime, was deaf-mute and waived the right to occupy the throne.)
However, the Spanish leader wanted to make very serious amendments to the country’s monarchy. Spain was proclaimed a kingdom again on June 7, 1947, but the Bourbon dynasty was not being restored automatically. The law “On Succession to the Office of Head of State” allowed only the caudillo to personally appoint the king or regent at his own choice at any time. And Franco made this choice. The revived monarchy looked like Franco’s personal brainchild rather than the continuation of a historical tradition: the dictator excluded Don Juan from the succession process, announcing his son Juan Carlos as heir apparent. On August 25, 1948, Franco met Don Juan on board his yacht, the Azor, in the Bay of Biscay, and said in no uncertain terms that he only wished to see the 10-year-old Juan Carlos as the future king. It happened precisely like that.
Juan Carlos was educated (for about 20 years at the best universities of Europe and the US) under Franco’s personal strict supervision. He said to the heir: “Democracy should be nurtured, not instilled. And you will do it!” After the Spanish ruler’s death in November 1975, Juan Carlos officially became the king. Soon after, the new monarch (together with Premier Adolfo Suarez whose role in the country’s history is still to be properly assessed) offered his country the ideology of “national compromise” based on: 1) total renunciation of violence as a way to resolve political problems; 2) “equidistance” of the monarch from both the right and the left, which was also reflected in the state’s attitude to Civil War victims from both sides; 3) regular and fair multiparty elections, the results of which the king accepts unconditionally; 4) liberal economic reforms aimed at strengthening the middle class; and 5) speedy adoption of a democratic constitution (which was done in 1977-78).
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Not all the Spaniards are democracy buffs. Moreover, what caused the departure of Juan Carlos from power in 2014 is not only his venerable age, but also the corruption scandals that also involved some members of the royal family. Yet the Spanish have not forgotten February 1981, when armed people broke into the Cortes (parliament) and announced the abolition of democracy and restoration of Francoism, to which Juan Carlos said he would not tolerate this and, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, ordered the plotters back to their barracks. And they obeyed him!
