Juan Carlos I spreads a second photo with his daughters and grandchildren after suspicions of manipulation of the first

The two images of the emeritus king with his two daughters and five of his grandchildren in Abu Dhabi.

On the left, the image of the controversy, where Pablo Urdangarin's legs are not seen. EUROPA PRESS

"I need to know where Pablo Urdangarin's legs are."

The controversy jumped this Saturday on social networks by turning the image that, a few hours before, the Europa Press agency of Juan Carlos I had spread with his daughters, the infantas Cristina and Elena, and five of his grandchildren.

The reason was the suspicion that it could have been manipulated based on a detail: Pablo Urdangarin's legs were not visible, located just in the second row of the group with his brothers Juan Valentín and Miguel, of whom they were visible. part of their lower extremities.

The controversy forced the emeritus king to broadcast a second image of the group hours later, in which, this time, the legs of the second son of the infanta Cristina and Iñaki Urdangarin were seen.

As detailed to EL PAÍS from Europa Press, the photo that has raised the dust arrived at its newsroom on Friday afternoon, after a friend of the king emeritus contacted the agency's management to offer the snapshot.

As explained by this source, the idea of ​​​​its dissemination was from the monarch himself, who was "very happy" for the visit of his daughters and grandchildren, the first that the monarch has received since, on March 5, he announced in a letter that he would continue to reside permanently in Abu Dhabi, even after the Public Prosecutor's Office closed the three open investigations into his finances.

"The image arrived at the address by WhatsApp and was distributed to customers without being touched at all," say Europa Press sources, who claim that it had allegedly been made that same Friday, moments before it was received at the agency. .

The direction of this decided that it be spread along with a brief text.

"At no time did we notice anything strange in it, so it was distributed among customers along with a text considering that on a day like that, with little information volume, it would raise interest," they add.

However, this Saturday the controversy arose, so the agency contacted, on at least two occasions, the person from Juan Carlos I's entourage who had sent it to him the day before: "At all times he denied that The photograph was manipulated.

Shortly after, this same source sent a second image with the same characters, apparently taken at the same time and in the same place, although they changed position.

In this one you could see part of Pablo Urdangarin's legs and feet.

Europa Press broadcast it shortly after.

The 84-year-old emeritus king left Spain in August 2020 "due to the public repercussion that certain past events are generating," he pointed out in the letter he released in March in reference to the alleged tax irregularities for which he had been investigated by the prosecution.

In the letter sent a few weeks ago after the closure of these investigations, Juan Carlos I announced his intention to travel to Spain "frequently", although he has not yet done so.

The emeritus king still has a lawsuit pending before the British Justice for harassment, defamation and illegal surveillance by Corinna Larsen.

On March 29, British judge Matthew Nicklin upheld his decision to deny the former monarch immunity and opened the door to an oral trial, which could be held as early as July.

In addition, last Monday it was known that the United Left (IU), the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and the Forum of Lawyers and Lawyers of the Left had gone to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg to denounce the file of the research on Juan Carlos I in Spain.