Majorca Has Strong Links to Spain’s Monarchy. So Why Vote on Abolishing It?

“What really matters is that we’re now finally able to discuss openly the role of the monarchy,” said Dídac Alcalà i Villa, who represents the organizing party, known as “The Valldemossa We Want” and who is in charge of the town’s education and culture. Similar votes were scheduled for Sunday in several other towns on the island, following Valldemossa’s lead.

The Spanish royal family returned to the throne in 1975 when Juan Carlos became king two days after the death of Gen. Francisco Franco ended a long period of dictatorship. But two years earlier, the authorities in Majorca, knowing of Juan Carlos’s fondness for sailing and their island, offered to convert a palace called Marivent into his vacation home, even though the property’s former owner had bequeathed it to become a museum.