On April 16, 2012, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain visited her husband, Juan Carlos the Elephant Killer, at the San José University Hospital in Madrid.
This is the first time since the infamous accident that Her Majesty has seen her husband. So why didn’t she see him on the day of his emergency hip replacement operation? She was on vacation in Greece to celebrate Greek Orthodox Easter with her brother, King Constantine of Greece and his family. Basically, she was in no rush to see him.
Any way, upon her arrival Queen Sofia was bombarded by the Spanish press. After a brief handshake with some dude Her Majesty bolted into the building. After spending a lengthy 25 minutes with her husband she left the hospital whereupon she decided to make a brief statement to the awaiting press.
According to a spokesman for the San José University Hospital, Juan Carlos’ condition has “has developed very positively” and currently he is in an “intensive recovery program.”
Meanwhile, the people of Spain are seriously annoyed with Juan Carlos’ behavior. Many are questioning the king’s actions by taking a luxurious elephant killing vacation in Botswana which apparently cost “more than most Spaniards earn in a year” while Spain is in a serious financial crisis. Unemployment is at 23.6 % and the “…youth unemployment rate is at 50%…” according to Reuters. Spanish debt levels are so high that the country may have to ask the European Union to bail Spain out as the EU recently did for Greece. It is not certain, however, whether the EU would be willing to do so (or for that matter able to do so).
The people are also questioning who actually paid for the old king’s vacation which was organized by his alleged mistress, who accompanied him on the killing trip, Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn (Spain’s version of Madame du Berry and whose legs have been spread wide open to many wealthy Europeans over the years. Yeah, I went there. 🙂 Click here to learn more about this chick). And, of course they are furious that Juan Carlos continues to kill innocent animals for fun.
According to the Spanish newspaper, El Pais, in 2006 the old king was on a hunting trip in Russia. Apparently, Juan Carlos allegedly killed a beloved bear named Mitrofan who was locked in a cage then given high amounts of vodka mixed with honey. Soon, the bear was drunk and the old king shot the beautiful bear to death.
In a recent press conference, the leader of the Spanish Socialist party’s Madrid branch, Mr. Tomas Gomez, criticized the old king’s actions stating:
The head of state must choose between his obligations and the duty of service of his public responsibilities, or an abdication that would allow him to enjoy a different kind of life.
According to the New York Times, the leader of the United Left Party, Cayo Lara Moyo:
…told the Spanish news media that the king was ‘demonstrating a lack of ethics and respect toward many people in this country who are suffering a lot.’ Julia Madrazo, a Basque politician, said of the king ‘instead of being in his office puzzling over how to pull the country out of the quagmire, he is hunting exotic and endangered species.’
Internationally, there is a petition being circulated online demanding that Juan Carlos be removed from his position as Honorary President of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) España. If you are interested in signing the petition please click here.
Juan Carlos with his guide posing proudly next to a dead elephant on a previous killing trip.
Click the links below to watch videos as well as to stare at photos.
- Gallery One
- VIDEO (with an article in Spanish)
- VIDEO 2
Sources: New York Times, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, AFP and RTVE.
Photo courtesy of the Guardian
The Royal Correspondent 