The incoming king of Spain, Crown Prince Felipe, 46, represents a “new generation,” said his father, who announced that he is abdicating the throne. The prince lives a fabulous life, as he joined Spain’s Olympic yachting team, served in Spanish military and married a former CNN journalist.

    KING Juan Carlos I is stepping down from the Spanish throne after nearly 40 years, handing power to his son after a series of scandals that have dented the royal family’s popularity.

    Carlos told Spaniards in a nationwide address that he first started thinking seriously about giving up the throne when he turned 76 in January.

    Carlos said Crown Prince Felipe, a former Olympic yachtsman, has “the maturity, the preparation, and the sense of responsibility necessary” to serve as king and “to lead [Spain] to a new stage of hope using his experience and the drive of a new generation.”

    Felipe, 46, is regarded as being untouched by the accusations of corruption and excess that have plagued the royal family as many Spaniards continue to struggle to find jobs and pull themselves out of financial ruin.

    Princess Cristina, the Prince’s older sister, is embroiled in a tax fraud and money laundering investigation. She and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, have denied allegations that they diverted public funds from Urdangarin’s foundation for private use.

    Spaniards have long held Carlos in high regard for shepherding the country into democracy following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975. But his popularity took a hit in 2012 over a controversial elephant-hunting trip to Africa while the nation was mired in a deep economic crisis.

    Felipe, the third child and only son of Carlos and Queen Sofia, has been preparing to be king his entire life. He attended his father’s coronation before parliament in 1975, and reportedly stayed awake late into the night to witness what is considered to be the king’s finest moment — his decisive put-down of an attempted coup by a section of the military in February 1981.

    Felipe studied international relations at Georgetown University in the United States and trained as a Spanish military officer.

    Felipe has increasingly stood in for the king at a variety of official engagements in recent years as his father’s health has faltered.

    Felipe also presides over the annual Prince of Asturias awards, prestigious accolades presented by his foundation for achievements in the fields of science, the humanities and sports.

    Felipe married Letizia Ortiz, a famous former TV anchor who worked for Bloomberg TV, Spain’s state-run TVE, and CNN+, a Spanish CNN station that is no longer on the air.

    Felipe’s marriage to Princess Letizia, a divorced commoner who left her own career behind to join the royal family, has made the monarchy seem more modern and accessible to ordinary Spaniards.

    Letizia is “someone who has traveled on the subway, taken out a mortgage to buy an apartment in a Madrid suburb, and brought emotional baggage to the relationship,” according to Tereixa Constenla at El Pais.

    The couple have tried to create a normal living environment for their family, according to El Pais, regularly taking their two young daughters to school and putting them to bed at night themselves.

    Despite his family’s recent troubles, Felipe remains a very popular figure in Spain. Two-thirds of Spaniards see the prince in a favorable light, according to a survey by El Mundo in December. The king’s approval rating in the same poll was just 41.3 percent.

    Felipe’s biggest task, in light of the recent scandals, will be to make the royal palace more transparent. His family has a relatively austere reputation when compared with other European monarchies, but there has been increasing resentment in Spain over the cost of the royal family to the public.

    The crown’s budget — more than 7.78 million euros (US$10.5 million) in 2014 — has been cut nearly 13 percent over the past five years, and the monarchy has begun publishing yearly breakdowns of its annual spending in an attempt to curb criticism, according to the U.K.’s Daily Telegraph.

    The overtures, however, have done little to silence a vocal minority in Spain who want to see the crown abolished altogether. After Carlos’ announcement Monday, thousands poured into the streets to call for a nationwide referendum on the future of the monarchy.

    Lawmakers have largely ignored those calls, and the soon-to-be-named Felipe VI is expected to be sworn in as king sometime after June 18 at a ceremony in front of Spain’s congress.

    Felipe was born in Madrid in 1968. He is the third child and only son of Carlos.

    On Jan. 30, 1986, at the age of 18, Felipe swore allegiance to the Constitution and to the king in the Spanish Parliament, fully accepting his institutional role as successor to the Crown.

    After earning a degree in law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and a master’s degree of science in foreign service at Georgetown University, Felipe started participating in official meetings in Spain, often standing in for his father when unable to attend.

    Felipe often makes official visits to European countries and to Latin America, the Middle East and Australia.

    He also plays a very active role in the promotion of Spain’s economic and commercial interests and of Spanish language and culture in foreign countries.

    Felipe was a member of the Olympic sailing team at the Barcelona Games in 1992. He finished in sixth place in the Soling Class and obtained an Olympic diploma.

    The future king of Spain is also honorary president of several associations and foundations, such as the Spanish branch of the Association of European Journalists.

    Very active in volunteer work, he was named an “Eminent Person” by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, during the U.N. declaration of 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers.

    Felipe currently bears the official titles of Prince of Asturias, Prince of Gerona, Prince of Viana, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera and Lord of Balaguer.

    He speaks Spanish, Catalan, French, English and some Greek.

    The Spanish prince got engaged to Oritz in November 2003.

    The couple married on May 22, 2004 in the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid.

    The wedding was watched by more than 25 million television viewers in Spain alone, and was broadcast throughout the world.

    The couple have two daughters, Leonor and Sofia.

    (SD-Agencies)