go to homepage

Juan de Borbón

Spanish royal
Alternative Titles: Don Juan, Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, Conde de Barcelona
Juan de Borbon
Spanish royal
Also known as
  • Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, Conde de Barcelona
  • Don Juan

June 20, 1913

Segovia, Spain


April 1, 1993

Pamplona, Spain

Juan de Borbón , (born June 20, 1913, Segovia, Spain—died April 1, 1993, Pamplona, Spain) (JUAN CARLOS TERESA SILVERIO ALFONSO DE BORBÓN Y BATTENBERG, CONDE DE BARCELONA), Spanish royal who , was pretender to the Spanish throne from the death of his father, King Alfonso XIII, in 1941 until 1977, when he formally renounced his claim in favour of his son, King Juan Carlos I. The third son of King Alfonso XIII, Don Juan (as he was always known) went into exile with his family in 1931. Two years later he succeeded to the pretendership when his eldest brother renounced the throne to marry a commoner; his second brother, who was deaf, also ceded his claim. In 1936 Don Juan tried unsuccessfully to join Gen. Francisco Franco’s Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. However, after the war he publicly opposed Franco’s dictatorial rule and campaigned from exile for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. In 1948 he reluctantly agreed to send his sons, Juan Carlos and Alfonso, to be educated in Spain. After refusing several times, Juan Carlos agreed in 1969 to be named as Franco’s successor. Father and son were estranged until 1975, when Franco died and Juan Carlos quickly called for the constitutional monarchy his father had long sought. In May 1977, shortly before Spain’s first democratic elections, Don Juan returned to his homeland and formally renounced his claim to the throne. He was given a state funeral and buried in the royal crypt alongside his father.

EXPLORE these related biographies:

Juan de Borbón
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Harvard
  • Chicago
You have successfully emailed this.
Error when sending the email. Try again later.
Edit Mode
Juan de Borbón
Spanish royal
Tips For Editing




Leave Edit Mode

You are about to leave edit mode.

Your changes will be lost unless you select "Submit".

Thank You for Your Contribution!



Uh Oh


Email this page