319. Despatch From the Embassy in Portugal to the Department of State0

No. 259

REF

  • Embassy telegram 268, December 22, 19591

SUBJECT

  • Conversation with Spanish Pretender: His Views on Visit of President Eisenhower to Spain; His Meeting with General DeGaulle

Continuing his talks with the Spanish Pretender initiated some time ago, the reporting officer saw Don Juan at the latter’s residence in Estoril just before the Christmas holidays.

As reported in the Embassy’s telegram under reference, the Pretender spoke enthusiastically about his encounter with a group of 350 monarchists, coming from every Spanish province, who met with him on December 20 for the purpose of reaffirming their allegiance. He explained that although Luis Arellano and Arauz de Robles, former Car-lists, had organized the visit, the group comprised all shades of monarchical support. He was particularly pleased that the majority were workers and persons in modest circumstances. Many of them, he said, came without passports and with the aid of “contrabandistas” had walked across the frontier to Portugal. A copy of the address which Don Juan made to his supporters is enclosed.2 The Department will have noted from the Embassy’s telegram that Don Juan took the occasion to refer in most favorable terms to President Eisenhower’s impending visit to Spain and he remarked that this part of his speech received prolonged and warm applause.

Commenting on the economic situation in Spain, the Pretender said that things were going better than had been anticipated. However, he said, the austerity program seems to be for everybody except the Government.

With respect to President Eisenhower’s visit to Spain, he said that he was delighted that the President had found time to go to Madrid. He condemned what he called those misguided monarchists who had protested against the visit [1–1/2 lines of source text not declassified] President Eisenhower, he said, was visiting Spain and not Franco. “It is too bad [Page 750] that it had to be Franco who received him but that is just an accident of history.”

Don Juan mentioned that his son, Prince Don Juan Carlos, would soon take up residence at his, Don Juan’s, house, “Miramar“, in San Sebastian. The young man has now finished his military studies and will complete his education in the humanities and economics under private tutors. There had been considerable pressure for him to send Juan Carlos to the University of Salamanca but he had decided against this. He added that his son was now 22 and that next year he would have to get married. [6 lines of source text not declassified]

The Pretender then spoke about his meeting in Paris on September 17 with General DeGaulle. Their conversation lasted about an hour. General DeGaulle spoke in very friendly terms about the Count of Paris, saying that he greatly admired him. DeGaulle mentioned that the Count’s eldest son constituted a “value” for France which should not be discarded; he intended to transfer the young man from Algiers, where he was doing his military service, to Paris and place him in his military cabinet so that he could see how the Government operated. (Don Juan remarked that this actually took place last November.) From his conversation with DeGaulle, Don Juan got the definite impression that he has monarchical leanings.

The Pretender found the French President badly informed about the monarchist situation in Spain. He appeared to believe that Don Juan had renounced his rights in favor of his son. The Pretender said that after putting DeGaulle right on that score the latter remarked that he was “glad to have the real picture because after all Franco is not eternal”.

For the Chargé d’Affaires:
Theo. A. Xanthaky
First Secretary of Embassy
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 752.11/12–2959. Confidential.
  2. Telegram 268 from Lisbon transmitted a summary of Xanthaky’s conversation with Don Juan on December 21. (Ibid., 752.11/12–2259)
  3. Not printed.