Juan Carlos' ex-mistress Corinna Zu-Sayn Wittgenstein appeared low-key as she stepped out in Chelsea on Monday.

The Danish-German businesswoman, 57, was spotted leaving a private members' gym in the London area amid her ongoing legal case against the disgraced former King of Spain for alleged harassment and spying.

Corinna, who is now based in the UK, first crossed paths with the former monarch on a hunting getaway hosted by the Duke of Westminster in La Garganta, northern Spain in 2004.

Shortly after that weekend, Industrielle Bearbeitungswerkzeuge the couple - who have a 27-year age difference - began a passionate relationship, which lasted five years.











Juan Carlos' ex-mistress Corinna Zu-Sayn Wittgenstein appeared low-key as she stepped out in Chelsea on Monday





Corinna first met the then-King in 2004 at a hunting party in Southern Spain. The pair pictured at the Schloss Schockingen castle in Stuttgart, Germany on February 2, 2006





RELATED ARTICLES

Previous

1

Next



Exact date when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's £88 million... Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Cressida Bonas gives birth to...



Share this article

Share


But towards the end of their relationship, which saw her showered with lavish gifts and romantic date nights, cracks began to show when Juan Carlos would receive 'bags full of cash' from friends. 

Corinna is now seeking personal injury damages from the 84-year-old, who ruled Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014, amid claims of widespread corruption.

The British resident has accused Juan Carlos, who now lives in the United Arab Emirates, of spying on her and harassing her after their relationship soured in 2012.

She filed a harassment suit in London in 2020, alleging he pressured her to return gifts worth 65 million euros, including works of art and jewellery. She is seeking an injunction and damages.




The Danish-German businesswoman, 57, was spotted leaving a private members' gym in the London area amid her ongoing legal case against the disgraced former King of Spain for alleged harassment and spying





Corinna looked casual for her outing earlier this week in a pair of black patterned leggings, matching trainers and a puffer jacket





The mother-of-two, who is now based in the UK, kept her blonde hair tied back from her face and wore glasses on her head, while carrying her essentials in a black handbag

Juan Carlos has not appeared at any hearings so far and strenuously denies any wrongdoing.

Corinna looked casual for her outing earlier this week in a pair of black patterned leggings, matching trainers and a puffer jacket.

The mother-of-two, who is now based in the UK, kept her blonde hair tied back from her face and wore glasses on her head, while carrying her essentials in a black handbag.

She kept her phone in her hand, while adding a touch of glitz to her low-key look with a dainty pair of diamond earrings.

The businesswoman appears in the new investigative podcast series Corinna and the King, which delves into her relationship with the former monarch and how it eventually played a key part in Juan Carlos' abdication.


She has claimed the former Spanish King 'couldn't bear the thought' of spending Christmas with his family and ordered a 'fake' celebration with 'people he liked'.




Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 and handed over the throne to his son King Felipe amid a money-laundering scandal. King Felipe VI of Spain (second left), his wife Queen Letizia (far left), their daughters Princess Sofia (front left) and Princess Leonor (front right), former King Juan Carlos I (second right) and his wife former Queen Sofia (right) pose before attending the traditional Easter Sunday Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca on April 1, 2018





Corinna is pursuing a High Court case against her former lover Juan Carlos, 84, for alleged harassment and spying. The mother-of-two is pictured arriving at Women4Walkabout Ladies Luncheon at Claridge's in June 2017

In the latest episode, the mother-of-two claimed the King demanded she attend a 'fake' Christmas celebration at her ex-husband Philip Adkins' country home in December 2013. 

Despite once seeing him as the 'husband of her heart', Corinna says their relationship went downhill in 2009 after Juan Carlos found another mistress while she was caring for her cancer-ridden father.

Although they had been separated for four years by the time Corinna was invited to the Christmas celebration, she says the King still relied heavily upon her - especially after their affair had been exposed during a controversial $60,000 hunting trip in Botswana and his daughter Princess Cristina was facing tax evasion claims.

The former monarch's ex-lover claims the Spanish Royal Family were reportedly already making plans to prepare Juan Carlos' son Felipe to take over as King in late 2013. 

'The relationship in the family had deteriorated to such a degree that he said he couldn't bear the thought of spending Christmas with his family,' she said. 'He was dreading to go home.' 




The ex-lovers pictured at the Laureus Sports Awards at Parc del Forum in Barcelona on May 22, 2006





Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein appears in the new investigative podcast Corinna and the King, documenting her affair with Juan Carlos and how it played a key role in his 2014 abdication. Pictured in St Petersburg in November 2017

As such, Corinna claims Juan Carlos hosted a Christmas celebration for the 'people he liked' three days early on December 22, 2013.

Describing how the monarch was surrounded by 'drooling sycophants', she continued: 'We're just part of some sort of circus performance to keep this powerful man happy and whatever he articulates as a wish must come true [...]

'He does two pretend Christmases. One is the pretend, happy Christmas with the people he likes. And then comes the pretend real Christmas with the people he can no longer stand.'

The former mistress claims the King demanded that the 'surreal' celebration be just like Christmas - complete with presents, bottles of champagne and a traditional feast.

What's more, Corinna says the King then started acting like they were back together and demanded to see her on his birthday just a few days later.




Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 and handed over his throne to King Felipe. He denies ever harassing or spying upon his ex-lover

Elsewhere in the podcast, Corinna claims that Juan Carlos was bought a £50m London townhouse by the Sultan of Oman near her flat in Belgravia.

The former mistress says the King - who was forced to abdicate the throne in 2014 amid money laundering allegations - also asked her to decorate the property just like hers.

In the same episode, Corinna claims Juan Carlos gave her €65m as a 'gift' after the news of their affair following their Botswana trip left her reputation in tatters.

However, she claims he later proceeded to 'harass' her into returning the amount - as the sum was a key aspect of the corruption case brought against the ex-King, whose extramarital affairs and widespread corruption caused the Spanish monarchy to plunge in popularity.

Earlier this month, Juan Carlos I appealed to a UK court to grant him immunity from harassment allegations by his former lover.

Three judges at the Court of Appeal in London heard legal arguments from both sides and said that they would deliver a ruling at a later date.




Corinna and Juan Carlos were lovers for five years and she described how she felt 'married' to him in this time. Pictured in New York in September 2014

Juan Carlos is appealing after the High Court in March threw out his claim that a 1978 UK law meant English courts had no jurisdiction to hear the case because he has state immunity as a royal.

Judge Matthew Nicklin ruled that Juan Carlos 'was no longer a "sovereign" or "head of state" so as to entitle him to personal immunity'.

The former king's lawyers appealed and won permission for a legal challenge concerning the period when Juan Carlos was on the throne.

Setting out his position, Juan Carlos's lawyer, Tim Otty, argued that immunity is 'a procedural bar' and says 'nothing about the lawfulness or the morality of the conduct alleged'.

However, zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn's lawyer, James Lewis, argued the appeal should be dismissed, claiming the alleged harassment had involved 'intelligence and surveillance' personnel acting as the former king's 'agents'.

In a bid to save the monarchy, Juan Carlos handed over the throne to his son Felipe in 2014 as the full extent of money laundering allegations came to light.

He fled the country after Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation into bank accounts allegedly held by Juan Carlos in tax havens.

After putting himself in a self-imposed exile in the UAE in 2020, the former King then settled a tax debt of more than £600,000 with the Spanish tax authorities.

Commenting on the money laundering claims, Corinna said: 'It became clearer and clearer to me [that] he was conducting not just a double life, he was conducting a quintuple life.

'There's something quite unhinged about him and something quite ruthless. It's all about self-preservation. Imagine that someone who says you were the love of their life would frame you in a criminal investigation.'

In an earlier episode of the podcast, the businesswoman claimed Queen Sofia once confronted her about the affair in front of Juan Carlos at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid - but wouldn't divulge when the alleged incident took place. 

'Suddenly, Queen Sofia bursts into the room with a face like thunder. She pointed at me and said, "I know who you are". I obviously wanted to disappear into the ground,' Corinna said.

She added that her royal lover 'seemed completely taken aback and unable to actually cope with this aggression' as he watched it unfold.