The Spanish Untouchables

A new tell-all book that details what led to Spanish king Juan Carlos giving up the throne would never have been published just a few years ago in a Spain still deferential to the royal family, experts said.

The volume spares no details on Carlos's 10-year relationship with a German mistress, an infamous elephant hunting debacle and Princess Cristina's upcoming trial in one of Spain's longest-running corruption scandals.

"It's not the king who has changed, it's self-censorship that has changed," said celebrity journalist Antonio Montero.

"Before people knew things and didn't reveal them, but now they are coming out," he added.

"Final de Partida" or "End Game", which debuted Tuesday and nearly sold out its 25,000 copies in 24 hours, comes less than a year after Juan Carlos stepped down in June 2014.

The 77-year-old royal had been off limits to critical reports because of his role in guiding Spain's transition to democracy following the death of longtime dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.

Juan Carlos became a symbol of stability in the country's young democracy.

"End Game" author Ana Romero instead shows a physically weakened sovereign, whose three children do not visit, "sitting on an empty couch in front of the TV".

Romero believes the acceptance of a tougher depiction of Juan Carlos stems from the influence of a more critical foreign press, which became accessible with the Internet's spread as well as the boom of social media and a string of royal scandals.

There was the 2012 photo of Juan Carlos posing with an elephant he killed on safari in Botswana at a time when Spain was grappling with record unemployment and risked needing an international bailout.

The ex-king's mistress Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, who is 27 years his junior, was among those who accompanied him on the pricey trip.

Juan Carlos thought of divorcing his wife queen Sofia with whom "he had not been living for years," the book claims, though members of his entourage discouraged him from doing so.

The royal family declined to comment on the book.

A fire broke out on a ferry off Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of 156 passengers and crew in lifeboats and injuring three crew members

A fire broke out on a ferry off Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean on Tuesday, forcing the evacuation of 156 passengers and crew in lifeboats and injuring three crew members, officials said.

The ferry operated by Trasmediterranea was traveling from Palma de Mallorca, the capital of the Balearic Islands, to the eastern Spanish port of Valencia when the blaze broke out in its garage for still unknown reasons, the company said in a statement.

“Everyone has been evacuated,” a company spokeswoman told AFP.

Passengers and crew abandoned the ferry Sorrento ferry in lifeboats after it became clear that the fire could not be brought under control with the means on board, Spain’s coast guard said in a statement.

Four crew members were rescued from the ferry by helicopter while the rest of the crew and passengers, including a baby, were picked up by another ferry that was in the area at the time, Trasmediterranea said.

Three crew members who were rescued by helicopter suffered smoke inhalation, the Mallorca port authority said. It had initially said there were around 170 passengers on board the ferry.

The fire broke out at 1:50 p.m. (1150 GMT) when the ferry was 20 nautical miles (37 km) off the coast of Palma de Mallorca, Trasmediterranea said.

Photos published by the online edition of regional daily Diario de Mallorca showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from the vessel.

The ferry’s captain at first felt it was not necessary to evacuate but he then gave the order to abandon ship “due to the intensity of the fire,” Spain’s coast guard said.

The coast guard dispatched four of its ships and a helicopter and ordered other passenger ships in the area to help in the rescue operation.

Spain’s Guardia Civil police sent a helicopter to the scene as well.

Port authority officials said the abandoned ferry could sink because of the damage suffered in the blaze.

The 186-meter (610-foot) long ferry can carry up to 1,000 people and 150 vehicles, according to Trasmediterranea’s website.

The ferry belongs to Italy’s Atlantica CSPA di Navigazione but is operated by Trasmediterranea, a unit of Spanish infrastructure firm Acciona.

Trasmediterranea bills itself as Spain’s largest shipping company, with over 20 passenger and freight ferries linking mainland Spain with the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands in the Atlantic.