Summary: In the end, it took a personal meeting between father and son to get the stalled talks back on track. As one source familiar with the matter described it: “There were no good solutions, just less bad ones.” For Juan Carlos I, his red line was preserving his honorary title of emeritus king, which was bestowed upon him in June 2014, a few days before abdicating the throne. For Felipe VI, the goal was to get his father to voluntarily accept a solution, instead of having to impose one on him. As for the best way to break the news to Spanish public opinion, it was agreed that Juan Carlos I would write a letter to his son and that this letter would be shared by the royal household.
