Most Spaniards want their new king, Felipe, to play a greater role in politics and build bridges between the country’s divided parties and regions, a poll showed yesterday.

One Spanish king may have abdicated but Rafael Nadal looks determined to hang onto his crown as the king of clay.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos plans to abdicate and pave the way for his son, Crown Prince Felipe, to become the country’s next king, the nation’s prime minister Mariano Rajoy said today.

Barcelona 1 Real Madrid 2

On a picture perfect spring day in 2009, Spain’s Princess Cristina and her husband held a First Communion celebration bash at their modernist Barcelona mansion with drinks and nibbles served from huge party tents on the sprawling grounds. The cost: €4,591.

Princess Cristina, the daughter of Spain’s King Juan Carlos, has been subpoenaed by a Spanish court as a suspect in an investigation of alleged tax fraud and money laundering.

Morocco’s king has withdrawn his pardon of a Spanish paedophile after a spate of protests – the first time in recent memory that a sovereign has done so.

Investigators probing the Spanish rail disaster are focusing on the key question of why the train was going so fast.

The driver of a Spanish train was taken into custody in hospital last night after at least 80 people died when it derailed and caught fire in a crash which was reportedly caused by excessive speed.

At least 77 people have been killed and more than 100 injured as a passenger train derailed in north-western Spain, according to reports.

Up to 56 people have been killed after a passenger train derailed on a high-speed stretch of track in north-western Spain last night, according to reports.

A Spanish court has dropped plans to call King Juan Carlos’ daughter as a suspect in a corruption case, following an appeal by prosecutors.

WORLD Wildlife Fund president for Spain, King Juan Carlos, was ‘outed’ early last year for hunting elephants in Botswana.

The World Wildlife Fund’s branch in Spain has ousted King Juan Carlos as its honorary president — a title he had held since 1968 — after deciding his recent elephant hunting safari was incompatible with its goal of conserving endangered species.

Spain’s king and crown prince are taking pay cuts as part of the latest round of austerity measures meted out by the country’s government as it attempts to control its deficit.

Spain’s king and crown prince are taking pay cuts as part of the latest round of austerity measures meted out by the country’s government as it attempts to control its deficit.

Hundreds of thousands of people packed central Madrid tonight to give a hero’s welcome to “La Roja” – the national soccer team that erased the country’s gloomy mood by winning the Euro 2012 Championship.

Two suspected Basque terrorists have been arrested by armed police in London, officials said today.

Ghosts of Spain

A town in north-eastern Spain has declared the king of Spain an unwelcome person, dealing another blow to the 74-year-old monarch who has faced scalding criticism for going on an elephant hunting trip during a deep financial crisis.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos has been forced to apologise after being caught out taking a holiday elephant hunting as his country struggles through an economic crisis.

Spain’s 74-year-old king came under scathing criticism yesterday for going on an expensive elephant hunting trip in Botswana’s northern Okavango region amid the nation’s deep financial woes.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos has successfully undergone hip replacement surgery to repair minor damage related to arthritis worsened by a fall, his fourth operation in less than two years, royal palace officials said today.

The king of Spain’s 13-year-old grandson has accidentally shot himself in the foot with a shotgun, palace officials said.

A JUDGE subpoenaed the son-in-law of Spain’s King Juan Carlos to testify as a suspect in a corruption case, deepening a public relations nightmare for the royal family at a time of acute economic crisis.

The son-in-law of Spain’s King Juan Carlos has been summoned to appear before a judge as a suspect in a corruption case.

Spain’s new conservative prime minister has been sworn in and appointed his Cabinet, including ministers charged with lifting the country out of its severe economic crisis.

THE office of President of Ireland is invested with great moral authority. Unusually, our President is directly elected by the people, except where political parties agree a candidate.

POPE Benedict yesterday urged 1.5 million young Catholics in an aerodrome near Madrid to spread the gospel to others seeking better values than modern society offers.

Pope Benedict XVI urged more than a million young people to become missionaries for the faith today, giving them words of encouragement as he concluded the church's youth festival.

POPE Benedict XVI warned of an “eclipse of God” as he spoke to nuns outside a 16th century Spanish monastery during protest-hit Catholic youth celebrations.

POPE Benedict denounced economic structures that put profits ahead of people yesterday at the start of a trip to recession-hit Spain where the costs of the pontiff’s visit have sparked violent protests.

FORMULA ONE cranks up again at this time of year, much to the delight, no doubt, of Bernie Ecclestone.

The Anatomy of a Moment

POPE Benedict XVI strongly defended traditional families and the rights of the unborn, directly attacking Spanish laws that allow gay marriage, fast-track divorce and easier abortions as he dedicated Barcelona’s iconic basilica, the Sagrada Familia.

US first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha went for lunch with Spain’s king and queen at the royal family’s holiday retreat on the resort island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Spanish officials have blamed summer solstice partygoers for crossing the tracks into the path of an express train that crashed into and killed at least 13 people

King Juan Carlos of Spain successfully underwent lung surgery to remove a small benign growth today, doctors said.

Some 100,000 Poles filled Warsaw’s biggest public square today, joining together for a memorial and funeral Mass for the 96 people killed in a plane crash a week ago.

SPORT and politics converge in a potent mix today with the credibility of the US President on the line as International Olympic Committee (IOC) members choose the venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

SPANISH police were still unsure whether the Basque terrorist group ETA was planning more attacks on Majorca following its planting of at least three bombs.

THE leaders of Spain’s main political parties paid tribute to two slain police officers as security forces guarded against a fresh attack on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the armed Basque group ETA.

A CORK family was caught up in a horror bombing on the Spanish resort island of Mallorca which killed two police officers and led authorities to block all outgoing flights and ships from leaving as part of a manhunt.

Basque separatists ETA considered assassinating Spain’s King Juan Carlos by attacking his plane or helicopter with a surface-to-air missile, the government said today.