On Friday the British Courts threw out the €146 million lawsuit brought by a former lover, Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, against the ex-king of Spain, Juan Carlos 1.
Judge Rowena Collins Rice ruled that the High Court of England and Wales had no jurisdiction in the case, but made no judgement on the substance of the allegations. Although the lack of jurisdiction automatically annuls the process, the judge also said that the claimant had not “sufficiently established that the ‘harmful event’ of which she complains, harassment by the defendant, happened in England”.
The decision represents a major disappointment for Corinna, who was demanding compensation of 146 million euros from the emeritus king for the alleged harassment to which he subjected her after their separation. Harassment that, according to the accusation, she began to suffer when she refused to return a “gift” of 65 million euros that the monarch gave her through the Lucum foundation, following the couple’s notorious elephant-hunting trip to Botswana in 2012. The trip – in which Juan Carlos was injured and had to be flown home – sparked public anger amid a financial crisis and record unemployment figures in Spain.
“I am deeply disappointed by the outcome of this case in the High Court of England,” Corinna said in a statement. “The bullying and harassment towards me and my children continue and aims to completely destroy me. Juan Carlos has deployed his entire arsenal to wear me down and the scope of his power is immense,” added the king’s former mistress, who has insisted that legal process has failed to provide “adequate resources” for people who suffer harassment.
