King Juan Carlos I signed his abdication and gives way to his son Philip VI

King Juan Carlos I will sanction the abdication law approved by the Spanish Congress that ends his 39-year reign. The resignation will be effective after midnight and on Thursday morning his son King Philip VI will be proclaimed in the Congress of Deputies.

“With the transparency and normality the succession of the Crown is being carried out is the best proof of the solidity of our institutions and social consensus around our Constitution and our democracy,” said the Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy .

Juan Carlos will not attend the ceremony in the House of Representatives, which will not be held with big luxuries, in line with the austerity required by the economic crisis.

After the proclamation, the new kings will travel the main arteries of Madrid downtown in a Rolls Royce to celebrate the beginning of their reign with the citizens.