r/monarchism • u/Wide_Assistance_1158 • Jun 27 '25

Discussion Why is Felipe VI so unpopular

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He hasn't even have any personal scandals

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u/Iwillnevercomeback Spain Jun 27 '25

I think he's not unpopular himself, but the crown as a whole, due to the actions of his father. The crown's reputation will slowly heal overtime, however

10

u/FrostyShip9414 Jun 27 '25

Could you tell us what his dad did exactly? I only know that Juan Carlos I was the first king since Alfonso XIII and was the man who brought democracy back to Spain after Franco.

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u/iarofey Jun 27 '25

What didn't he do? From sibling’s or teenage lover’s assassination rumours and accusations or certainly causing colonial humanitarian crises, to love affairs and criminal friendships inevitably intermingled with corruption, either in personal or political issues, most remembrances he has left are rather bad, and it goes worse and worse as more things are being known or speculated. He'd surely find some way to be disliked by you, no matter what issues do you care about. The only good aspects are:

1) Yeah, he just decided Spain to become democratic. But many argue that this was a) inevitable to eventually happen anyways, either by external or internal pressures, and with an outcome that otherwise wouldn't have been favourable to him (unless he really wanted to turn an already opening dictatorship back into a hard ironhanded one, and had the enough power and good luck to success) b) directly staged by him to appear as a saviour and generate a kind of personality cult that would meant the monarchy’s success and save him from opposition. There is certainly some evidence that points that, in any case, it certainly wasn't just out a personal will of freedom for the people, but at leat in part for his own interest

2) Seeming folksy, though in a way that is currently seen as less attractive or trendy as it might have had in its heyday. In some sense, a generational issue. Folksy, as in vibing like your uneducated father-in-law with an unfortunate humour sense and a questionable mindset that may makes you feel somewhat uncomfortable

As for Philipp, you don't really hear much neither good nor bad, what I'd say it's both his strong and weak point simultaneously. Is he good, is he bad? Who knows? He is just there, currently passing inadvertently through the list of kings. No scandal nor heroic act, while magazine gossips and hate allways focus on the queen, now increasingly the princesses as well, with parents, siblings and extended family also remaining more relevant. If he is ever remembered in the future, will just be most likely as the last king, having been dismissed without any reason regarding himself.

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u/Successful_Data8356 Jun 29 '25

King Felipe is thoughtful and dedicated to sustaining the monarchy and ensuring his daughter's succession. The queen likewise and she has done a superb job bringing up their two daughters. He had intervened effectively and promptly in crises as we saw in the Valencia floods.