Infante Juan, Count Of Barcelona

Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, known as Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, was born on 20 June 1913 and died on 1 April 1993. He was a member of the Spanish royal family and a claimant to the throne of Spain, holding the title Juan III. He was the third son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Queen Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. His birthplace was the Palace of San Ildefonso.

Early in his life, Infante Juan was recognized as the heir apparent after his two older brothers, Alfonso, Prince of Asturias, and Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia, renounced their rights in 1933. His father, King Alfonso XIII, was deposed in 1931 when the Second Spanish Republic was established, which resulted in Juan's exile from Spain. During his service in the Royal Navy, Infante Juan served abroad, particularly at Bombay, where he was appointed honorary sub-lieutenant in March 1935 and completed examinations in gunnery and navigation. He declined to give up his Spanish nationality, which would have been necessary to hold a full lieutenant’s commission in the Royal Navy.

In his personal life, Infante Juan married Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 12 October 1935 in Rome. The couple had four children: Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz; Juan Carlos I of Spain; Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria and Duchess of Hernani; and Infante Alfonso of Spain. Their children married into various European noble families and had children of their own. The family lived in Cannes, Rome, and later Lausanne, residing with his mother, Victoria Eugenie, during World War II. Subsequently, they settled in Estoril on the Portuguese Riviera.

In 1954, Infante Juan participated in the "Cruise of the Kings," a ship tour organized by Queen Frederica and King Paul of Greece, which included the first meeting between Juan Carlos and his future wife, Princess Sofia of Greece and Denmark.

After the death of his father in 1941 and his own claims to the throne, Juan used the title of Count of Barcelona. He contended that Spain’s government under Francisco Franco was incompatible with constitutional monarchy and called for the restoration of the monarchy, advocating for a traditional monarchy as a means of peace and stability. His 1945 manifesto in Lausanne explicitly criticized Franco’s regime and emphasized the importance of a monarchy based on law and Christian principles.

Franco declared Spain a monarchy in 1947, referring to it as a "restoration," but he favored Juan Carlos over Juan due to concerns that Juan’s preference for constitutional monarchy might threaten the dictatorship. Consequently, in 1969, Franco bypassed Juan in the line of succession, favoring his son Juan Carlos as the future ruler. Juan formally renounced his claims to the throne in 1971, following his displacement as the recognized heir and after Juan Carlos’s accession in 1975. In gratitude, Juan's son conferred upon him the title Count of Barcelona.

Juan was known to have a fondness for the sea, having joined the Naval School at San Fernando, Cádiz. He had tattoos with marine themes acquired during his time in the British Royal Navy and was appointed an honorary admiral of the Royal Navy on 31 July 1987.

Following his death in 1993, Juan was interred in the Royal Crypt of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial near Madrid, with honors due a king. His wife, Princess María de las Mercedes, passed away seven years later in 2000.