Key Points
- Albert Sola who claimed to be former Spanish king's son, died suddenly before making a media appearance.
- The 66-year-old showed no previous signs of poor health.
Albert Sola was 66-year-old, with no signs of major health risks.
He also claimed to be the son of former Spanish king Juan Carlos I, who is the father of the current king, Felipe.
Mr Sola has a facial structure extremely similar to Juan Carlos, and said he produced a 99 per cent match to the former king in a DNA test.
Mr Sola was set to make a major media appearance on Spanish television program Quién es mi padre? (Who is my father?).
But on Saturday, after ordering a glass of wine at Pa i Trago, a bar in Girona where he worked, Mr Sola suddenly dropped dead.
"He didn't even have time to try the wine," an employee told local media.
When previously asked about Mr Sola's claims, spokespeople for the Spanish royal family have refused to respond, and royal observers say that as an unrecognised son, he would have little chance of claiming the throne under the country's constitution.
In January 2015, Spain’s highest court rejected the claim of Mr Sola, saying it did not meet legal requirements.
Authorities say he died of a heart attack under no suspicious circumstances.
But considering the timing of the death, and the fact that he had no signs of underlying health conditions, a Spanish judge has ordered an autopsy and an investigation.
Juan Carlos, pictured with son Felipe in 2004, handed the Spanish crown to Felipe in 2014. Source: Getty / Carlos Alvarez
Juan Carlos, who was king from 1975 to 2014, when he abdicated the throne to his son Felipe, had a reputation in Spain as a sex addict.
Martinez Ingles wrote the book Juan Carlos: The King Of 5,000 Lovers, which the author describes as the "true story of an amoral king, unscrupulous, shameless, ambitious, authoritarian, authentic sexual predator who has had thousands of sexual adventures".
In 2021, Spain's former police commissioner Jose Manuel Villarejo told a parliamentary hearing that the country's National Intelligence Centre (CNI) had to administer “female hormones and testosterone inhibitors to lower his libido.”
His sex life was not the only source of scandals.
He has paid hundreds of thousands of euros in back taxes to Spain following investigations into his finances.
Juan Carlos is living in the United Arab Emirates in exile after he accepted $158 million from a former Saudi King.
Spanish media has reported the recorded interview with Mr Sola will be shown on Saturday.
