Ben HallJul 9, 2026 – 4.00pmOn April 18 2012, Spain’s King Juan Carlos emerged from his room in a Madrid hospital to make a statement to the nation. “I am very sorry. I have made a mistake and it will not happen again.”The monarch had just been discharged after receiving hip replacement surgery after a fall during an elephant-hunting trip in Botswana. Accompanying him on his lavish expedition was Princess Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, his longtime lover (she says by that point ex-lover).Financial TimesSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles