2022-11-22 Tue

Juan Carlos I was born on 5th January 1938. He was the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain before the abolition of the monarchy in 1931.

Juan Carlos was declared as the head of the state in 1969. He spent his early life in Italy and returned to Spain in 1947. Juan Carlos began military training in 1955 and entered the General Military Academy at Zaragoza. Later, he joined the Naval Military School and the General Academy of Air. He married Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark in 1962. Juan Carlos became the king on 22nd November 1975.

Juan Carlos introduced reforms that dismantled the Franco regime and began the transition of Spain into a democracy. This led to the re-establishment of constitutional monarchy. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader, and hailed for his role in Spain’s transition. In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son due to personal reasons. He has lived in a self-imposed exile away from Spain since August 2020.

The given stamp is a Definitive stamp of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, available in Turquoise blue and gold colour. This stamp was published by Spain, on the 2nd of January 2013. The face value of this stamp is 0.37 Euros. The stamp features the face of Juan Carlos, facing left. It has a golden band at the bottom with Spain written over it and the face value written on the top left corner.

Image Courtesy: Colnect.com