"In Juan Carlos, Paul Preston explores the history of twentieth-century Spain through the lens of the royal who would play the key role in Spain's eventual transition to democracy." "Born in 1938, Juan Carlos found himself even as a boy at the center of an epic story, and his life is so deeply entwined with that of Spain's that there is often little distinction between his personal history and his country's. At age seven, he had already been suggested as a possible heir to Francisco Franco. When he was ten, from his Portuguese exile, his father, Don Juan, handed him over to Franco, who educated him according to the strictest authoritarian traditions, thereby hoping to ensure the survival of his dictatorship after his death." "As Juan Carlos grew up, ever greater friction between his father and Franco made him realize that the dictator would never allow his father to be king. The prince became the family's only hope for return to the throne. Juan Carlos's closeness to Caudillo - and their apparent mutual fondness - resulted in widespread suspicion that he would continue to uphold Falangist and authoritarian structures after he came to power. That he made the courageous and personally dangerous decision to pursue democracy testifies to his profound underlying loyalty to his father and to Spain's wider interests."--Jacket.