Q. Where do royal fugitives hide out? A. In £10k-a-night suite at 7-star hotel!
FORMER Spanish king Juan Carlos is hiding out in a £10,000-anight presidential suite in one of the world’s most exclusive hotels, it was claimed yesterday.
The 82-year-old has fled Spain amid a corruption scandal and is believed to have made the seven-star Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi his home.
He checked in on Monday night around the same time a letter to his son King Felipe VI announcing his intention to flee was made public, a Spanish newspaper reported. Juan Carlos is under investigation by Swiss authorities over tax haven accounts which appear to have accumulated hundreds of millions of pounds of assets during his reign.
One is said to have received a £76million ‘donation’ from the king of Saudi Arabia in 2008. Spain has begun its own investigation.
It is the latest twist in the downfall of the scandal-hit former king – who abdicated in 2014 amid criticism over an elephant hunting safari to Botswana.
Despite being married since 1962, he is said to have been a notorious philanderer with one biographer claiming he has had roughly 5,000 sexual partners. He is reportedly staying on the top floor of the £3billion Emirates Palace in one of the six suites said to be out of bounds to all except members of UAE royal families.
Opened in 2005, it is set in 1,000 hectares of landscaped parkland with 100 fountains and 8,000 trees.
It has a near-mile-long private beach, a four-mile jogging track, two swimming pools and underground parking for 2,500 cars. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, Crown Prince of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, is said to have made the hotel ‘paparazziproof’ with more private security following Juan Carlos’ arrival.
Tony Blair and Bill Clinton have been among the heads of state to stay there along with stars such as
Sir Elton John, Will Smith and Justin Timberlake.
News of Juan Carlos’ flight emerged in a letter to his son in which he wrote: ‘It’s a decision I am taking with deep feeling but with great serenity. I have been king of Spain for almost 40 years and... I’ve always wanted the best for Spain and for the crown.’