The danger in the future, some observers feel, is that the Spaniards see Juan Carlos himself, not the monarchy, as the symbol of national unity and reconciliation. But Marichal says that the regional autonomy granted by the 1978 constitution has raised participation to a level that makes retrenchment unlikely. "Democracy is taking root in a way never seen before," he explains.
Marichal says that the freedom given to Spain's historically fractious provinces is largely due to faith in this "singular function of the crown."
"Catalonia sees the king in Madrid with different eyes than Catalonia would see a president in Madrid," he says. As evidence, in 1979 the sovereign became the first in over 500 years to address the parliament of the highly separatist Basque region.
As domestic affairs have become more stable, Juan Carlos has been able to turn his attention to ending the international isolation Francoism required. Acting more as a super ambassador than a official diplomatic representative, he has travelled extensively in an attempt to make Spain seem more accessible. Last year it was Africa and Latin America, this year Canada and the Soviet Union.
The South American trip was particularly im- portant for the king, who is firmly committed to hispanidad--the unity of all Spanish-speaking peoples. He was received as a here wherever he went. "He is the symbol of a new future, or the new possibility for Latin America," says Marichal. "In Montivideo, the entire city was out in the street shouting, 'Long Live the King,'" he adds. "What they were really shouting was, 'Long Live Democracy.'"
Wherever he trots on the globe, Juan Carlos preaches the universal gospel he learned in Spain's transition. "If there's an international figure that stands for negotiation, peaceful resolution, and statecraft, it is him," comments Karl.
That Juan Carlos is seen now as the architect of Spain's transition and has achieved such international recognition is mildly amazing, considering his enigmatic presence at the time of Franco's death. Opponents called him a puppet, a tin soldier. They chided him for walking well behind the 5 ft.-3 in, general so as not to embarrass him with his courtly 6 ft.-2 in. frame. He was once called "the son Franco never had." Wags named him "Juan the Brief" because his public statements were short and infrequent.
His ability to lead, to hold his throne were questioned. As a Bourbon, he was scion of a royal line that had frequently failed. Both sides of the political spectrum prepared for the worst. His sure and simple belief in the inevitability of democracy for Spain was seen as political naivete.
What was most readily assessible was his princely biography. At age ten, Franco had negotiated a deal with his father Don Juan, the pretender to the throne, to raise the boy. He graduated from Sargossa Academy, the Spanish West Point, and spent a year at both the naval and air schools. He is the only man commissioned in all three service branches.
This education has been the key to the monarch's leverage on the naval forces, observers say. "It matters that this is a military man," says Karl. "He has been able to deal with the right-wing tendencies of the military without degrading the military as an institution." The King sure said of his officers. "I knew them. I used to take showers with them."
Tall and athletic, Juan Carlos was known is an avid sportsman (and still is, although a pelvic injury last year has slowed him somewhat). He was a member of Spain's 1972 Dragon-class Olympic sailing team. A black belt in karate, it was said its kept his broken boards in a mansion closet. He is also an avid motorcyclist.
In 1962 the great grandson of Queen Victoria of Great Britain married Princess Sofia of Greece, a pediatric nurse and amateur archaelogist, in the social event of that season. They had two daughters, 20-year-old Elens and 19-year-old Cristina, and a son, aged 16, Felipe.
Since he took the throne November 22, 1975, the King has repeatedly demonstrated that his competence is as much fact as his life history.
"There were a lot of jokes where he appeared foolish or lacking strong character," says Rosa Maria Calaf, assistant bureau chief of Spanish national television's New York Bureau. "Those have completely disappeared." The common thinking today is that as prince Juan Carlos could not risk his position as successor to assure his critics. "He was playing a role," says Calaf, adding. "He didn't want to appear as a danger to the [Franco] regime."
If he could depend on a fairy tale ending, all would be well. But Karl points out that "nothing is firm or solid in Spain," and anti-monarchists note that his grandfather ruled for 29 years before fleeing to Rome.
But pessimism is not the stuff of Juan Carlos's reign, as the king likes to say himself. He has time to cement the transition. Says Marichal of the king's reign thus far, "Probably even Franco would be surprised.