Former King of Spain Juan Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias Carlos was born in Rome, Italy, in 1938. His parents lived there in exile due to the Spanish Civil War. Spain's dictator Francisco Franco allowed the young prince to come to Spain in 1948. The latter wanted to train Carlos to become the next head of state. The fascist party in power had restored the monarchy in Spain in 1947 but had not appointed a king. Franco wanted a puppet who would do the job according to his ideas. Carlos was educated at public schools and later attended the military academy. When Franco was ill, Carlos was acting head of state for a few months. In 1975, Juan Carlos officially became king.

H.M. Juan Carlos did not become a puppet of Franco: he implemented policies of democracy and modernisation. He achieved peace in the Civil War and transitioned the New Spain without use of violence. In 1978, H.M. Juan Carlos announced a new constitution. When the coup by the Guardia Civil and right-wing soldiers failed, the king and the very young democracy emerged stronger. This action improved the king's national unity and popularity. In addition, this action allowed Spain to join the European Union (EU) and NATO.