Who is Albert Sola, the waiter who claimed to be ex-king of Spain's love child?

The waiter who claimed to be the former king of Spain’s love child died suddenly at a bar in Spain. Albert Sola, 66, collapsed after ordering a glass of wine at Pa i Trago bar in Catalonia’s La Bisbal, according to Spanish media. Before his death, Sola claimed he was the love child of Juan Carlos, the former king of Spain. Sola died in mysterious circumstances when meeting a friend after work. The Sun quoted a woman who witnessed Sola’s death telling Spanish media he was walking to a table when “he keeled over”. “He didn’t even have time to try the wine,” she said, as per the newspaper. El Pais reported that Sola died after ordering ordered a glass of red wine and before he had taken a sip. According to the newspaper, an autopsy is underway, but authorities say there is no suspicion of foul play. Let’s take a closer look at Sola: Waiter or son of a king? As per BBC, Sola was born in Barcelona in 1956. He claimed his mother had an affair with Juan Carlos. As per Daily Beast, Sola, a married father of two, grew up an orphan. He had heard rumours of his lineage his entire life, according to his 2019 autobiography El Monarca de La Bisbal. Sola, who claimed he had DNA tests that proved he was a 99 per cent match with Carlos, was convinced that being recognised as Carlos’ son would change his fate, his autobiography claimed. His autobiography never clearly stated how he had the former king’s DNA to conduct such a test, as per the report.

“It’s quite simple: I am the son of the king"

This is what Sola, serving drinks at the pub, would tell his customers, as per The New York Times. He would regale his customers with tales of his ‘royal lineage’, leading to many patrons dubbing him ‘the little king’. Sola claimed his own face was the evidence of his parentage but there were other clues including where he was raised – first on a by peasants on a Mediterranean island and then a mansion in Barcelona. He claimed generals, diplomats whispered of his ‘noble birth’ and a Spanish secret agent all but confirmed his story. Sola claimed in 1982, that he visited an office in Barcelona which had local adoption records. The director told him his “was the most complex adoption in the history of this center,” as per The New York Times. Sola said when he made a request in court to see his adoption records, the judge in his case asked to see him and confirmed that he was indeed the son of Carlos, at the time king of Spain. The judge, Jorge Maza, denies ever telling Sola he was the son of the Carlos, as per The New York Times. In January 2015, Spain’s highest court rejected the claim of Sola, then 58, saying it did not meet legal requirements.

The palace declined to comment on the matter.

Carlos, the disgraced ex-king Carlos was for decades revered for his role in steering Spain to democracy following dictator Francisco Franco’s death in 1975. [caption id=“attachment_1552983” align=“alignnone” width=“380”] Former king of Spain Juan Carlos. AP[/caption] But damaging scandals over his finances and private life in 2014 forced him to abdicate after nearly 40 years on the throne in favour of his successor King Felipe VI. A book written by a retired republican colonel entitled Juan Carlos I: The King of the 5,000 alleged that the former king has had nearly 5,000 lovers in his lifetime. It derided him as a ‘sex addict’ and a ‘sexual predator’. In 2020, Carlos went into self-imposed exile in the United Arab Emirates against a background of investigations into his fortune. Spanish prosecutors had to shelve their case after concluding that the alleged misbehaviour, involving millions of euros in undeclared accounts, happened when Juan Carlos had legal immunity as Spain’s king. His behaviour is widely considered in Spain as a public embarrassment that has tarnished the crown. Felipe renounced his inheritance from Juan Carlos and stripped him of his state-provided subsidy in 2020 in a groundbreaking move to distance himself from his father. Carlos still faces possible legal trouble in Britain, where a former lover who was allegedly involved in his opaque financial dealings has accused him of harassment. The former king and his estranged wife Queen Sofia and King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia were last seen publicly at the Queen’s state funeral, where they sat side by side at Westminster Abbey. Carlos and the late queen were distant cousins – their shared great-great grandmother was Queen Victoria – and Felipe called the monarch “Aunt Lilibet”. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .