King Juan Carlos has a new problem and his son Felipe can't do anything else

King Juan Carlos faces a new institutional problem that highlights his growing loss of relevance in the public sphere. The Ador City Council, in the Valencian region of La Safor, has unanimously approved the removal of the street that had borne his name for more than thirty years. This is a symbolic but forceful decision, before which his son, Felipe VI, can do nothing but watch from a distance.

Although this is a small municipality, the gesture hasn't gone unnoticed. The context, symbolism, and firmness of the agreement reflect a shift in the social and institutional perception of the emeritus king. Why now? Why does Felipe keep his distance?

Juan Carlos I faces a new conflict: a street named after him is removed in Ador

King Juan Carlos was for decades a key figure in Spain's recent history. His role in the democratic transition after Francoism earned him national and international recognition. However, his image has deteriorated inexorably after years of financial scandals, judicial investigations, and behaviors that public opinion has considered unworthy of a head of state.

The fact that his name has been removed from a street is not just a local anecdote, but a reflection of that decline. In this case, the Ador City Council, governed by the Gent d'Ador coalition, approved the measure in a plenary session, with support even from the Partido Popular.

The street in question was located in the Raval area and was just 328 ft. (100 m) long. It was dedicated to Juan Carlos I more than thirty years ago, when his figure still caused consensus. However, the passage of time, new generations, and a change in social sensibility have reignited the debate about which names should appear in public spaces.

Everything began in 2019, when the local school, La Murtera, conducted a study on street names. The students detected a clear underrepresentation of women: only three women's names among all the designations. As a result of this report, the council approved an initial list of women deserving to be included in the street directory.

It was in that same context that two residents of the street dedicated to Juan Carlos I requested its removal. The reason was clear: "lack of ethics in the performance of duties as a ruler," they argued. The debate, far from being solved immediately, remained open for years, until it culminated in this recent plenary session.

Now, the street that until now bore the name of King Juan Carlos I has been renamed in honor of the Valencian writer Maria Beneyto. Born in València, she stood out for her literary production in both Spanish and Valencian, and she is considered a forgotten figure in Valencian literature.

King Juan Carlos's figure keeps losing influence in Spain and Felipe VI can't do anything

This decision is not an isolated case, since Ador is the second municipality in the region to remove a street named after the emeritus king. In 2020, Tavernes de la Valldigna already made the same decision. Other nearby towns, such as Palmera, l'Alqueria de la Comtessa, and Oliva, have chosen to keep it, but the debate remains alive.

Juan Carlos I's trajectory has gone through periods of enormous prestige and deep discredit. He was key in the events of February 23, defending constitutional order, and his support for democracy made him a symbol of the new Spain. However, the last years of his reign and his subsequent abdication were marked by controversies, investigations, and a voluntary flight to Abu Dhabi.

The silence of King Felipe in the face of this latest municipal decision is not surprising. Since his accession to the throne, he has tried to distance himself from his father's actions. That strategy prevents him from intervening in symbolic decisions such as the removal of a street, even if they directly affect his family's institutional memory.

There is no doubt that the removal of King Juan Carlos's name from Ador's street directory symbolizes a deep change in the institutional perception of his figure. Felipe VI, bound to his constitutional role, watches as his father's legacy fades away without being able to do anything. Historical memory keeps being rewritten, and in it the emeritus king loses more and more space.