Sky Original documentary series Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King to receive world premiere at Canneseries next month

Wednesday 29 March 2023

Launching on Sky Documentaries and NOW on 21st May

Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King, a sensational Sky Original documentary series, charting the rise and fall of the former Spanish King Juan Carlos I, will be coming to Sky Documentaries and NOW on 21st May 2023. The four-part series will also receive its world premiere in competition at Canneseries on April 17th 

For many years, King Juan Carlos I was a Spanish hero, celebrated around the world for reforming Spain with his modern, progressive, democratic values. He led his country from the Franco dictatorship to parliamentary monarchy, transforming Spain into a modern European state and becoming the most popular Spanish ruler in history.  

King Juan Carlos had a loyal Queen, a loving family, international respect, friends in high places and faithful subjects; he had everything a King could wish for. So, how did this revered Monarch take such a drastic fall from grace that he was forced to abdicate in 2014 and eventually flee into exile in 2020? 

This new documentary shows how a fateful hunting trip to Botswana revealed the King’s secret love affair with his companion, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, and set off a series of events that shook the Spanish monarchy to its core. The house of cards began to crumble when questions were raised about the King’s financial affairs, his lucrative links with the Spanish establishment and alleged global corruption, including a 65 million payment.

Juan Carlos: Downfall of The King features exclusive interviews with the King’s former lover, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein as well as close friends, confidants and supporters of the King, former secret service employees, palace insiders and investigative journalists who share their eyewitness accounts of this remarkable period in modern Spanish history.  

Christian Beetz, Co-Author, Producer, Gebrueder beetz Filmproduktion:"When we started producing this investigative series about King Juan Carlos I of Spain, we were unaware of the magnitude, scale and reach of the royal, financial and political scandal. Bit by bit, a web of intrigue, greed and power games unravelled, rooted deep in the highest circles of Spanish society that continue to be protected by the Spanish secret service CNI to this day. It’s a remarkable story and one that we have sought to tell without fear or favour.” 

Barnaby Shingleton, Director of Factual, Sky Studios: Our focus at Sky Studios is to produce exclusive premium documentaries of scale and ambition that resonate with Sky customers and viewers around the world.This series pulls back the curtain on a modern-day royal scandal with unprecedented access to those who saw it unfold.”

The series is produced by Grimme Prize winner Christian Beetz, who created the series with Anne von Petersdorff and Georg Tschurtschenthaler from Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion, and author Pedro Barbadillo. Executive Producers at Sky Deutschland are Christian Asanger and Felix Kempter, and for Sky Studios, Barnaby Shingleton. The four-part documentary series is being produced by Gebrüder Beetz Filmproduktion in association with Sky Studios. 

Notes to editors 

For further information, please contact:

Juancarlos@premiercomms.com

Image credit - © gebrueder beetz filmproduktion/ picture alliance/ ASSOCIATED PRESS/ Daniel Ochoa de Olza/ 2023 / only for editorial use in the contact of the docu-series until 16/07/2023 

Assets are available on SEAC here.