Juan Carlos I of Spain

75 former ministers and senior members of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) and People's Party (PP), as well as around fifteen ambassadors, have signed a manifesto of support for King Juan Carlos, defending his presumption of innocence and recalling his legacy in these more than 40 years of democracy, the "most fruitful historical period that Spain has known in contemporary times".

Among the signatories of the document are former vice-presidents of the Government such as the socialist Alfonso Guerra; former ministers of Union of the Democratic Centre (UCD) such as Rodolfo Martín Villa or Soledad Becerril, or of the PP, such as Rafael Catalá, Jaime Mayor Oreja, Esperanza Aguirre, José Ignacio Wert or Ana Pastor, among others.

The Spanish royal palaced confirmed that former king Juan Carlos I has been living in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since August 3. His whereabouts have been unknown since he left Spain amid a corruption investigation.

The finances of the former king are under scrutiny. Juan Carlos denies any wrongdoing and has said he is available if prosecutors need to interview him.

Spanish Supreme Court prosecutor has opened an investigation into King Emeritus Juan Carlos in connection with a high-speed train contract between Medina and Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

In a statement released today, the public prosecutor said: "This investigation focuses, precisely, on establishing or discarding the criminal relevance of deeds that happened after June 2014, when the King Emeritus was no longer protected by inviolability,".