After ascending to the throne following his father Juan Carlos I's dramatic abdication, Felipe VI oversaw a politically tumultuous time in which Spain dealt with several political earthquakes, including the 2017 Catalan independence crisis.
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00:00The King Felipe VI took his family to the balcony of the Royal Palace in Madrid
00:07ten years after he took possession as head of state after the turbulent abdication of his father, Juan Carlos I,
00:13due to the numerous public and private scandals.
00:17In this time, the new king has focused his work on renewing the monarchy
00:21and returning transparency and integrity to the institution.
00:24He is a good person. And what has happened, has happened.
00:27And I would like him to leave his family in peace.
00:30One of the biggest challenges was the Catalan independence referendum in 2017,
00:35when the monarch intervened to undermine the unity of Spain.
00:38During this decade, Felipe VI has had to reign over a political tumult
00:43with five general elections in less than nine years.
00:46I think that the intervention after the referendum
00:50has been very beneficial for all Spaniards.
00:54It was a turning point and I think that it prevented the independence
01:01or the separation of a part of Spain.
01:04King Felipe VI also had to make painful personal decisions
01:08distancing the monarchy from the scandals of the past.
01:11This included separating his sister, Infanta Cristina,
01:14due to the corruption cases of her husband, Iñaki UrdangarĂn,
01:17and managing a complex relationship with his father,
01:20who moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020.
01:22I have tried to keep away from all the scandals,
01:25trying to keep the monarchical institution completely out of the way.
01:30I think I have done it in a very correct way.
01:32The future of the monarchy now lies in Princess Leonor,
01:35who has turned most of her age and has already sworn the constitution.
01:39The next years of Felipe VI's reign will be decisive
01:43to restore confidence in the monarchy
01:46and to finish reconnecting with Spanish society
01:49before giving the center to its heir.
01:51In Madrid, Jaime Velázquez, Euronews.