Advanced Television

Sky releases first-look at Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King

April 17, 2023

Sky has released the first-look trailer for Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King, a new Sky Original documentary series. Charting the rise and fall of former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, the four-part series will be coming to Sky Documentaries and NOW on May 21st.

For many years, King Juan Carlos I was a Spanish hero, celebrated around the world for reforming Spain with his modern, progressive, democratic values. He led his country from the Franco dictatorship to parliamentary monarchy, transforming Spain into a modern European state and becoming the most popular Spanish ruler in history.

King Juan Carlos had a loyal Queen, a loving family, international respect, friends in high places and faithful subjects; he had everything a King could wish for. So, how did this revered Monarch take such a drastic fall from grace that he was forced to abdicate in 2014 and eventually flee into exile in 2020?

This compelling, investigate documentary features exclusive interviews with close friends, palace insiders, journalists and supporters of Juan Carlos, along with his former lover, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein. Documented and brought together on screen for the first time, a varied collective of high-profile figures including former secret service agent José Manuel Villarejo, biographer Jaime Peñafiel, ex-bank president, Mario Conde and close confidant of Juan Carlos, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein’s ex-husband, Philip Adkins share their eyewitness accounts of this remarkable period in modern Spanish history.

Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King sets out on an international hunt across London, Monaco, Geneva, Abu Dhabi and New York to find out how Juan Carlos came to his enormous fortune and asks long standing questions around his financial affairs, lucrative connections and his alleged involvement in global corruption cases.

This new Sky Original documentary explores how a fateful hunting trip to Botswana revealed the King’s secret love affair with his companion, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, and set off a series of events that shook the Spanish monarchy to its core and caused the House of Cards to fall in the most dramatic way. Then there’s the intriguing question of why Juan Carlos  transferred the sum of 65 milllion euros to  Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein’s account shortly before the end of his reign.

Christian Beetz, Co-Author, Producer, Gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion:”When we started producing this investigative series about King Juan Carlos I of Spain, we were unaware of the magnitude, scale and reach of the royal, financial and political scandal. Bit by bit, a web of intrigue, greed and power games unravelled, rooted deep in the highest circles of Spanish society. It’s a remarkable story and one that we have sought to tell without fear or favour.”

The series is produced by Grimme Prize winner Christian Beetz, who created the series with Anne von Petersdorff and Georg Tschurtschenthaler from Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion, and author Pedro Barbadillo. Executive Producers at Sky Deutschland are Christian Asanger and Felix Kempter, and for Sky Studios, Barnaby Shingleton. The four-part documentary series is being produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion in association with Sky Studios.

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