The dutiful prince charged with burnishing the crown

The King of Spain was preparing for a game of squash at his residence outside Madrid when he heard about the military coup. A group of renegade officers had taken control of parliament, turning ministers and deputies into hostages, barking orders and firing their guns.

It was the evening of February 23 1981, and Juan Carlos was about to embark on the most fraught hours of his 39-year reign. He called for his advisers, but also for the youngest and most inexperienced member of the household: Crown Prince Felipe, who had just turned 13. The shy little boy would stay at his father’s side the entire night, watching as the king cajoled and manoeuvred to keep Spain’s rebellious armed forces on side, and isolate the plotters.

Juan Carlos later said that he had wanted his son to see what it means to be king. It was a lesson the young prince never forgot. “It left an indelible impression,” says one who has known Felipe for decades. “He learnt that this is a struggle; that nothing can be taken for granted. And he learnt that the monarchy has to have a purpose; that it must be seen to be doing things.”

More than three decades after witnessing the night-time drama, Felipe is about to begin his own struggle for royal purpose, and for his place in a country scarred by economic crisis and braced for political upheaval. In many ways, the challenge he faces is no less formidable than the one that confronted his father upon securing the throne in 1975.

Juan Carlos helped steer Spain from dictatorship to democracy, winning huge popular support for the monarchy along the way. Today much of that goodwill has gone. Worn down by ill health and family scandals, Juan Carlos announced his abdication on Monday. With the popular tide starting to turn against the royal house (as against so many of Spain’s institutions), the ageing king concluded that it was better to secure the succession sooner rather than later. The task of restoring the monarchy to its former standing, and securing the crown for a new generation of Bourbons, now falls to Felipe VI.

Born as the family’s first and only son in Madrid in January 1968, Felipe has been described as the best-prepared monarch Spain has ever had. Unlike Juan Carlos, who was born in exile and grew up not knowing if he would ever take the throne, Felipe was raised in the sure knowledge that the crown would one day be his. He has been under intense scrutiny all his life, giving the first of more than 1,000 public speeches when he was only 13.

Studious and diligent, he has enjoyed an unusually wide-ranging education. Felipe will be the first king of Spain who went to university; he speaks four languages, including English and – perhaps more importantly – Catalan. He has travelled widely, attended boarding school in Canada and studied international relations at Georgetown University in Washington. Felipe also passed through Spain’s three principal military academies and still has close friends in the armed forces.

When the king is unhappy, he shouts at you. When he is happy, he gives you a hug. The prince never shouts, and he never hugs

To the dismay of traditionalists, Felipe decided to marry well below his station. Letizia Ortiz, the soon-to-be queen, is a divorced former television presenter from a middle class family that holds strong republican feelings. She has, by all accounts, struggled to adapt to life as a Spanish royal, and Madrid society is awash with speculation about marital difficulties. Whatever the rumours, the couple have kept the show firmly on the road. Their two young daughters are rigorously shielded from the public. The couple pop up at shopping malls and cultural events across Madrid. On Friday nights, they can usually be found at one of the capital’s art house cinemas, watching a foreign film with subtitles.

The prince’s appearance is reassuringly regal. Just under 2m tall, handsome and athletic, Felipe invariably towers above those who surround him. His demeanour, however, is often described as rigid and distant – the very opposite of his father’s. The prince rarely shows emotions, and can be hard to read.

“When the king is unhappy, he shouts at you. When he is happy, he gives you a hug. The prince never shouts, and he never hugs,” says one person close to the palace. A Madrid business leader makes a similar point: “Juan Carlos always makes you feel like you are the king. His son is more rigid, though less so than he used to be.”

A thoroughly professional royal, Felipe is said to be “obsessed” with his duty. He reads briefs carefully, consults widely and thinks through every aspect of a problem. Unlike the rest of his close family, Felipe has led a public life devoid of gaffes, scandals and missteps – testament, associates say, to his discipline and dedication. Polls show that Felipe is liked and respected by ordinary Spaniards – more so than his father, whose elephant-hunting escapades at the height of the recent crisis have not been forgotten. One survey in January found that more than 60 per cent of Spaniards wanted the king to abdicate in favour of his son. Two-thirds said they had a good or very good opinion of Felipe.

Indeed, outside republican circles, news of the abdication has been greeted warmly, even with genuine enthusiasm. There is talk that the new king might serve as the figurehead for a broader process of renewal and regeneration. Some urge Felipe to take an active political role much like his father did, and help resolve the noxious relationship with Catalonia where separatist sentiment grows by the day.

Inside the royal house, however, officials view the rising expectations with concern. For all his diligence and dedication, the prince has yet to show that he has the same political nous as his father. What is more, he clearly lacks the political credibility that Juan Carlos enjoyed during the transition. “Even if he wanted to, and he doesn’t, the prince cannot lead a regeneration of this country,” says one person close to the palace. “What he wants is to renovate the crown.”

The writer is the FT’s Madrid bureau chief