Madrid - King Juan Carlos of Spain decided to abdicate his throne in favor of his son Felipe de Asturias.
King Juan Carlos 1 of Spain said on Monday in a televised message his decision to abdicate in favor of his son, Prince Felipe, after 39 years of rule, saying that with this decision he wants to pave the way for a new "younger generation," embodied in the crown prince.
In his message broadcast on the Spanish public television TVE, the King Juan Carlos said that by his abdication, he wants to take a step to "younger generation" that will bring "hope" at a time when the crisis left "serious scars" in Spanish society, a new generation, he has said, will "affront with new energies" the transformations and reforms in the future.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Monday was quoted by Reuters as saying: "I have just been informed by His Majesty King Juan Carlos that he will abdicate his throne because he is convinced that this is the right time for a change."
King Juan Carlos, 76, was instrumental in the process of democratic transition in Spain in the seventies following the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from between 1939 and 1975.
Mariano Rajoy declared that the King Juan Carlos - who underwent a number of surgeries in recent years due to health problems - abdicated his throne for personal reasons.