On New Year’s Eve 1975, King Juan Carlos I, one of Europe’s most charismatic monarchs, met Barbara Reythe famous Spanish star, at a party in which former president Adolfo Suárez served as intermediary. From that moment on, a romance began that, according to various sources, would last almost two decades. It was about a secret and discreet relationshipwith carefully arranged meetings in a house in Aravaca, a three-story house and garage rented by the National Intelligence Center (CNI) so that the two could arrive separately.
This relationship, according to several reports, ended in 1994 by decision of the king, which marked the beginning of a dark chapter in the history of this romance: the alleged blackmail of Bárbara Rey, who, apparently, threatened to make public the testimony of their relationship, including compromising recordings. It was then that, according to several sources, members of the CNI intervened to silence the star with payments of $1 million from earmarked funds between 1996 and 1997.
Alberto Sainz, former director of the CNI (2004-2009), confirmed on the programme Salvados that these payments had been stopped by order of the then president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who considered it untenable to continue this practice. However, Bárbara Rey has always denied having received any form of money in exchange for her silence. “That’s not true”; He said in several interviews: “If they talk about these sums of money, I would like to know who has them and who takes them.”
THE publication of new photos and documents confirm what has been an open secret in Spanish society for years: a story of power, love and controversy This was hidden under the veil of official secrecy.
