King Don Juan Carlos I, the darling of the Spanish, has been sacked as head of the World Wildlife Fund; a position that he held in an honorary capacity. The King was caught on camera, holding a hunting rifle in front of a slain elephant, whilst on safari in Botswana.

Now, the King has every right to do this, because the controlled killing of elephants is not illegal in Botswana, but you can’t realistically retain the office of honorary chairman of an international wildlife preservation body having just blown away an elephant… At least, that is the way that 85,000 people in the online community felt when they registered their disapproval.

Anyway, the vote to abolish the position of honorary president was carried by a 94% majority, so it was hardly a close run thing. But it was done very diplomatically because rather than removing him from his post, the post was removed from existence, which was a more face-saving arrangement.

The King is beset with family problems, with a son-in-law; the ex-Olympic sportsman, Iñaki Urdangarin, being investigated for corruption and if that weren’t bad enough, his wife; i.e., the King’s daughter is looking increasingly ‘involved’ in the dirty dealings. But it doesn’t end there because the family of the future Queen of Spain, Doña Leticia, is also under investigation for fraud.

The King’s health is also on the blink with his constantly being in and out of hospital for treatment to a hip transplant.

The Spanish Royal Family, through an unspoken accord with the national press, has never had to undergo the sort of harassment that the British press gives to Queen Elizabeth and Co., but that now seems to have become a thing of the past; not because the press have become greater predators, but because the Spanish Royal Family has lost a lot of respect amongst the Spanish royalists. On thing should be remembered, however, about the Spanish: they are more Juan-Carlistas than Royalists – most just feel sorry for this aging, affable symbol of the Spanish Transition.

(News: Spain)