MADRID (AFP) — Spanish King Juan Carlos celebrated his 70th birthday with a dinner at the royal place Wednesday for some 450 people at which he expressed his "renewed determination" to continue on the throne.
"I want to be king for all Spaniards. All have contributed to ... supporting the path of the Crown," he told the guests at the Pardo palace.
He expressed "pride at all that we have achieved together, confidence in the future, in our youth ... (and) renewed determination to continue working as king with the same passion and commitment, in the service of Spain for all Spaniards."
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero expressed his gratitude to the king for having made the monarchy a "model of coexistence."
The king's 70th birthday was on January 5, but he marked the day privately with members of his family.
Juan Carlos acceded to the Spanish throne in 1975 after the death of right-wing dictator Francisco Franco when the monarchy was restored, and his popularity among Spaniards remains high despite sometimes critical headlines in the press last year.
The king has the highest approval rating of any public figure, according to a Metroscopia poll carried out in October.
But last year he faced protests by separatist Catalans in the wealthy northeastern region, who burned his photographs. Demonstrations against the monarchy and in favour of independence for Catalonia have become a regular occurrence there.
The protests led the king to take the rare step of defending the monarchy's role, saying that it had acted as a guarantor of stability and prosperity.
In November a Spanish court convicted two cartoonists of defaming the royal family by publishing a caricature of Crown Prince Felipe having sex with his wife. His daughter Elena separated from her husband the same month.
In a clash that soured relations with Venezuela he told its President Hugo Chavez to "just shut up" during a summit in Chile of leaders from Spain, Portugal and Latin America in November.
The royal outburst came after the leftist leader called former Spanish prime minister Jose Maria Aznar a "fascist" and repeatedly interrupted a speech by Zapatero.
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