Two kings for Spain

He may be leaving his office, but he won't be leaving his title behind.  It's been confirmed that following his abdication on June 18th 2014, Juan Carlos I will remain King of Spain.  While his son assumes the role and duties of a reigning monarch which will belong to him alone, Felipe VI will share the title of king with the man he will succeed.  From June 19th 2014, Spain will have two kings.

King Juan Carlos I and the man who will be king this time next week, Felipe

And two kings means two queens as Sofia will keep the title she has held for 39 years after her daughter-in-law becomes Queen Letizia. The changes needed for the country to have two sets of monarchs are expected to be passed on June 13th 2014 and at the same time it will be confirmed that the eight year old Infanta Leonor will become Princess of Asturias on the day her father becomes king.

Seeing double - two kings and two queens for Spain in 2014

Spain won't be alone in having this double dose of kings and queens.  In Belgium, Albert II and Paola retained the title of king and queen following last year's abdication while the country also has a dowager queen consort - Fabiola, widow of King Baudouin. 

King Baudouin and Queen Fabiola on their wedding day

It means that in less than a year, Europe has gone from having five kings and six consorts to seven kings and eight consorts - and that's before we get to the two queen regnants with their long reigning prince consorts.  Europe's monarchies wobbled for much of the early part of the 20th century but in the first decades of the 21st, it seems that royals are doing better as ever as for the first time in generations the continent is seeing a growth in its number of kings and queens.