Corinna and The King

Corinna and the King is the unbelievable true story of a love affair that brought the Spanish royal family to its knees. When Corinna, a worldly and well-connected businesswoman, fell in love with Juan Carlos I, the king of Spain, he seemed too big to fail. Their secret romance stretched across continents, but its unraveling would open a window into a dangerous world of greed, corruption, and crime. Vast pools of hidden wealth; international espionage and conspiracy; scandal, elephant hunting, and unstoppable lust… all tracing back to one of the most secretive royalties in the world. This is Corinna and the King, a co-production by Brazen, PRX and La Coctelera Music. Este podcast también está disponible en español. Para escuchar, busca Corinna y el Rey en tu plataforma de podcasts favorita. Corinna and the King is a Project Brazen production. For more fearless storytelling, search for the Brazen channel on Apple Podcasts or visit brazen.fm, home to all our podcasts, documentaries and newsletters. At Brazen, we show you how the world really works – from espionage and corruption to deal-making and organised crime, we’ll take you inside stories from hidden worlds. Don’t stay in the dark. Subscribe to Brazen+ on Apple Podcasts or at brazen.fm/plus and get exclusive bonus episodes for Corinna and the King and all our shows, as well as ad-free listening and early access to new podcasts. For the latest from Brazen delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletters at brazen.fm/newsletters. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://brazen.fm/plus/

Episodes

Introducing Corinna and The King, Coming Soon

November 2, 2022 • 4 mins

Brought to you by Project Brazen and PRX, and narrated by “Vida” and “Riverdale” star Mishel Prada, this is Corinna and the King, out now. When Corinna, a worldly and well-connected businesswoman, fell in love with Juan Carlos I, the King of Spain, he seemed too big to fail. Their secret romance stretched across continents, but its unraveling would open a window into a dangerous world of greed, corruption, and crime. Vast pools o...

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Ep 1: La Casita - Juan Carlos I and the Hunting Party

November 7, 2022 • 38 mins

It’s February 2004, and 39-year-old businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein attends an aristocratic hunting party in the Spanish countryside. The host? Juan Carlos I, the king of Spain. An expert in guns, Corinna catches the king’s attention, and he later invites her for lunch at the Madrid hunting lodge Corinna would come to call their casita. The king makes his intentions clear — he might be married, but he wants to be more th...

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Ep 2: Court of Miracles - Death, Democracy, and Bags of Cash

November 7, 2022 • 41 mins

Juan Carlos became a national hero when he saved Spain’s fledgling democracy, but who was he before that? During weekends at the casita, Corinna asks the king about his troubled past, from the tragic death of his younger brother to his upbringing under the thumb of a brutal dictator — Francisco Franco. But she soon sees that those days are behind him. Now Juan Carlos is dripping in wealth, coming back from overseas trips with suitc...

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Ep 3: Envidia - Queen Sofia, Saudi Arabia, and a surprise proposal

November 14, 2022 • 44 mins

Corinna’s days with Juan Carlos are a stream of highs and lows, roses and thorns. An invitation to the palace ends in a face-off with the queen, and when she joins the king on an official trip to Saudi Arabia, Corinna is shunted to the sidelines. Despite it all, the over-the-top romantic gestures don’t stop, and her growing influence on the king makes her some powerful enemies. The chief of Spain’s secret service has a word of warn...

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Ep 4: Killing Elephants - A hunt, the accident, and Juan Carlos’ apology

November 21, 2022 • 39 mins

Corinna decides to stay friends with Juan Carlos, who wants to take them on a safari trip to Botswana for her son’s tenth birthday. But she soon finds out the trip is for Juan Carlos himself, and he’s brought boxes of wine for his own amusement. After a night of heavy drinking, the king trips and falls, critically injuring himself, and the group is forced to make an emergency exit. They land in Madrid, unaware that the news has lea...

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Ep 5: Fake Christmas - Corruption, Spanish spies, and a 65 million euro gift

November 28, 2022 • 43 mins

After the Botswana disaster, Corinna gets an uncomfortable visit from the new chief of Spain’s secret service, General Felix Sanz Roldan. He’s making requests, except they’re more like threats. But Juan Carlos is apologetic and gives Corinna a suspicious gift. Soon after, Corinna is implicated in a corruption scandal involving the king’s son-in-law. Corinna tries to clear her name, but the palace responds with a vicious media campa...

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Ep 6: Blood is Thicker - Money laundering, abdication, and a new princess

December 5, 2022 • 42 mins

Corinna brushes off Juan Carlos’ proposal. But Juan Carlos, now the former king of Spain, requests access to the gift. His lawyer frantically stops him, as the gift is undeclared and would get him in legal trouble. Rebuffed several times on multiple fronts, Juan Carlos unleashes another litany of lies about her to the media and his friends in the Middle East, discrediting Corinna globally. She’s at her lowest when her shrinking cir...

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Ep 7: A Dark Soul - Juan Carlos, conspiracy, and the Villarejo tapes

December 12, 2022 • 47 mins

Seeing the huge pools of money held by the former king through hangers-on, Corinna cuts all contact with Juan Carlos. Corinna also finds out that Villarejo, who appeared to be on her side, has been secretly recording their meetings and has leaked the recording. To make matters worse, Juan Carlos does everything in his power to make her family turn against her. Corinna finally comes face to face with Juan Carlos for the first time i...

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Ep 8: Hell-bent - Frozen bank accounts, the FBI, and a harassment suit

December 19, 2022 • 41 mins

After his fall from grace, Juan Carlos retires from public life to Abu Dhabi. Corinna finds herself mired in investigations in multiple jurisdictions, where her bank accounts are closed one by one. When a freezing order descends on her US bank account, Corinna hires a former FBI agent to cooperate with US law enforcement rather than fight it. As she tries to prove her innocence, Corinna is secretly photographed in a restaurant and ...

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Bonus: Mishel Prada and Laura Gómez on hosting Corinna and The King

January 9, 2023 • 17 mins

In this bonus episode, we share an exclusive interview with the hosts of Corinna And The King – Mishel Prada, who narrated the series in English, and Laura Gómez, in Spanish. In conversation, they reveal their thoughts on Corinna and King Juan Carlos, how they approached the narration, and what it was like to tell this unbelievable true story of corruption and love gone wrong at the heart of the Spanish royal family. Thanks for...

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Bonus: Behind the soundtrack for Corinna and The King

April 20, 2023 • 30 mins

In this bonus episode of Corinna and the King, we invite you to discover the amazing original soundtrack for the series. This ambitious symphonic, cinematic and experimental musical work included the recording of more than 65 original tracks, in a process that ran right up until the release of the final episode of the series. Alex García Amat, the composer and an executive producer for the series, explains why and how this sound...

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Introducing The Illuminator: Art, Conspiracy and Madness

November 18, 2024 • 4 mins

The Illuminator is out now. Subscribe to get early releases and listen ad-free. http://brazen.fm/plus Mark Lombardi, a conceptual artist on the cusp of international success, had everything to live for. So why was the 48-year-old found hanged and deemed suicidal? Was his death the ultimate conceptual art, an afterlife laugh at those who doubted his brilliance? He did, after all, carry business cards eerily portending "death defyi...

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