Former Spanish King Juan Carlos has won an appeal to block a portion of a case brought against him in the United Kingdom by his ex-lover.
Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a businesswoman, has accused the former monarch of directing a harassment campaign against her since their relationship ended in 2012.
However, UK judges ruled that the former king was immune from prosecution for allegations relating to his time as monarch.
Juan Carlos, 84, stepped down in 2014. He claims he did nothing wrong.
Ms zu Sayn-lawyers Wittgenstein’s in the UK said the ruling did not affect the “overwhelming” chunk of her claim.
She is seeking damages and an injunction over allegations that the former king caused her “great mental pain” as a result of “a continuous and ongoing campaign of harassment” since 2012.
Tuesday’s Court of Appeal judgment overrules a previous one earlier this year. That one had ruled that Juan Carlos’s behaviour before 2014 had been “private conduct” and, therefore, could be prosecuted.
Following the appeals ruling, Ms zu Sayn-Wittgenstein’s lawyer, Michael Kim, insisted that the judgement “applies to a very narrow issue” concerning “only the period when Juan Carlos was the reigning king of Spain.
“The overwhelming part of Corinna’s claim, from 2014, remains unaffected and should proceed to trial,” Mr Kim said.
Juan Carlos was credited with overseeing Spain’s transition from dictatorship to democracy in 1975. But he abdicated following a series of scandals involving his family, including a corruption investigation involving his daughter’s husband, Inaki Urdangarin, who was later jailed.
The former king has spent more than two years in self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates, after leaving Spain over allegations of fraud which were eventually dropped. A Swiss investigation into a multi-million dollar payment from Saudi Arabia was closed because of insufficient evidence.