Spain King Juan Carlos Paternity Suit Under Investigation In Latest Royal Family Scandal

Spain’s former king may not sit on the throne anymore – but the 77-year-old royal is still in the hot seat. The country’s Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it was investigating a paternity suit against former King Juan Carlos, the potential father of a Belgian housewife named Ingrid Jeanne Satiau. Juan Carlos has 20 days to appeal, the Spanish daily El Mundo reported, according to TheLocal.es.

It's not Juan Carlos' first paternity scandal. Alberto Sola Jimenez, a Spanish waiter, also claimed the ex-king was his father, though that paternity suit was dismissed. Sola claimed his birth mother may have had an affair with the king before he married Queen Sofia, Agence France-Presse reported.

In 2012, Jimenez and Satiau took DNA tests to prove they were related by at least one parent. The test came back saying there was a 91 percent chance they were family. Although they tried to make Juan Carlos take the test at the time, he was protected by still serving as a monarch. He abdicated the throne in 2014 after serving for nearly 40 years. His son Felipe took the seat at the head of the family.

Juan Carlos has been the subject of other tabloid scandals, as well. He was criticized in 2012 for a hunting trip in Botswana where he killed an elephant. The expensive vacation came at a time when his country was facing an economic crisis. His daughter Cristina and son-in-law Inaki Urdangarin were also the focus of another scandal when his son-in-law acted with a business partner in embezzling public funds. His daughter was questioned as a suspect of the tax fraud and is set to appear in court later this year.