Juan Carlos I of Spain - Family and Private Life

Family and Private Life

Juan Carlos was married in Athens at the Church of Saint Dennis on 14 May 1962, to HRH Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, daughter of King Paul. She was Greek Orthodox but converted to Roman Catholicism in order to become Spain's queen. Also in 1962, a Roman Catholic wedding was performed in the Pauline Chapel the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.

They have two daughters and one son.

• Her Royal Highness Infanta Elena María Isabel Dominica, Duchess of Lugo born in 20 December 1963.
• Her Royal Highness Infanta Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca born in 13 June 1965
• His Royal Highness Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos, Prince of Asturias born in 30 January 1968

In 1972, Juan Carlos, a keen sailor, competed in the Dragon class event at the Olympic Games, finishing 15th. In their summer holidays, the whole family meets in Marivent Palace (Palma de Mallorca) and the Fortuna yacht, where they take part in sailing competitions. The king has manned the Bribón series of yachts. In winter, they usually go skiing in Baqueira-Beret and Candanchú (Pyrenees), where the king has occasionally ended with a broken leg.

Juan Carlos also enjoys bear hunting. In October 2004, he angered environmental activists by killing nine bears (of which one was a pregnant female) in central Romania. In August 2006, it is alleged that Juan Carlos shot a drunken tame bear (Mitrofan the Bear) during a private hunting trip to Russia. The Office of the Spanish Monarchy denies this claim, which was made by the Russian regional authorities.

Juan Carlos and Sofía are fluent in several languages. They both speak Spanish, English, and French. The King also speaks fluent Portuguese and Italian, but unlike the Queen, he does not speak German nor her native Greek (a fact he regrets).

Juan Carlos is also an amateur radio operator and holds the call sign EA0JC. His fondness of incognito motorbike riding has raised urban legends of people finding him on lonely roads. For example, one story says that a biker out of petrol stranded on a hot sunny day was assisted by a fellow motorcyclist, who returned with a small container of petrol. The good Samaritan, on removing his helmet, turned out to be Juan Carlos.

Juan Carlos is member of the World Scout Foundation.

His net worth is only valued at $5 million, but the Royal Family have a net worth over $1.7 billion (December 2011).

In April 2012, the Spanish paper El Mundo Deportivo broke the news of King Juan Carlos's expensive elephant hunting holiday to Botswana. Although Spanish officials stated that the expenses of the trip were not paid by taxpayers or by the palace, but by Mohamed Eyad Kayali, a businessman of Syrian origin, Juan Carlos was criticized by the press. He later apologised for the hunting trip. The Spanish branch of the WWF subsequently voted to abolish the role of Honorary President, held by the King.