Spanish politicians have overwhelmingly approved the abdication of King Juan Carlos despite noisy anti-royalist protests, paving the way for the first royal succession in post-Franco Spain.
Nine days after Juan Carlos called an end to a 39-year reign that guided Spain from dictatorship to democracy, MPs on Wednesday approved by a wide margin a law that would allow his son, the future Felipe VI, to inherit the scandal-tainted crown.
The bill was approved with 299 votes in favour, 19 against and 23 abstentions.
It was backed by the ruling conservative Popular Party, the main opposition Socialists and the small centrist UPyD party.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy opened the debate by defending the king and the monarchy, which he called "the best symbol of the unity of the state".
"Spain is a parliamentary monarchy with deep roots because Spaniards want it to be so," he added.
Once passed by the lower house, the succession will then have to be approved by the Senate, Spain's upper house of parliament, which will vote on the bill on June 17.
The 46-year-old Prince Felipe is expected to be sworn in by parliament on June 19.
The succession must be enshrined in law under Spain's 1978 constitution.
Juan Carlos, who walks with a cane after multiple hip operations, won widespread respect for defending Spain's democracy, notably appearing on television to thwart an attempted military coup in February 1981.
But a series of gaffes and scandals in the twilight of his reign caused his popularity to slump.
Many Spaniards were outraged that the king took a luxury elephant-hunting trip to Botswana in 2012 as they struggled to find jobs in a recession and the government teetered on the brink of a debt default.
Earlier this year, his younger daughter Cristina was named as a tax crime suspect in connection with her husband Inaki Urdangarin's allegedly corrupt business dealings.
His son Felipe, a former Olympic yachtsman married to glamorous former television news presenter Letizia with whom he has two daughters, eight-year-old Leonor and seven-year-old Sofia, enjoys greater popular support.
Tiny left-wing and regional parties, including the United Left coalition and the Catalan separatist Catalan Republic Left, voted against the law and have called for a referendum on the future of the monarchy.
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