The VERY torrid life of Felipe Juan Froilán! Spanish king's nephew is known for his colourful antics

Felipe Juan Froilán de Marichalar y Borbon, the nephew of Spain's King Felipe VI, has been implicated by police over his alleged involvement in a fight in a Madrid nightclub, in which some carried knives, it has been reported.

The incident, which has garnered headlines worldwide, does not mark the first time the royal has found himself the subject of scandal. 

In fact, the 24-year-old grandson of Juan Carlos I (who ruled from 1975 to 2014) and fourth in line to the Spanish throne, has found himself at the centre of a number of scrapes in recent years. 

Known in Spain as Froilán, the eldest child of Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, and Jaime de Marichalar, and the maternal-line grandson of King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía of Spain, was born in 1998.

Felipe Juan Froilan de Marichalar y Borbon (pictured) the nephew of King Felipe, and fourth in line to the Spanish throne, has been involved in a number of scandals over the years (pictured during the Chinchon Bullfighting Festival in 2018)

One of his most notable scandals occurred in 2012, when aged just 13 and too young to be legally using firearms under Spanish law, he shot himself in the foot while doing target practice outside the family home north of Madrid.

People were quick to draw parallels with a 1956 involving his grandfather, the disgraced former king, Juan Carlos.

The then 18-year-old (who was yet to ascend the throne) was handling a gun that accidentally went off and killed his 14-year-old younger brother Alfonso. 

He was reported to have been completely shocked and devastated and was said to have told family and friends that he 'felt responsible' for the tragedy which happened in Estoril, Portugal.

The 24-year-old, who is known as Froilan in Spain, has reportedly been implicated by police over his alleged involvement in a recent fight in a Madrid nightclub, in which some carried knives

After Froilán's 2012 incident, he started to build a reputation as the 'black sheep' of the family, according to media reports.

In 2015, the royal allegedly used a racial slur against a Chinese student during a trip to a Madrid theme park, when a fracas broke out when he was unable to queue jump while waiting to go on a ride.

The then 16-year-old is reported to have reminded staff at the Parque de Atracciones of his position as fourth in line to the throne during the incident, which culminated in him telling a fellow student to 'shut up' and using the slur against him.

Further negative reports emerged during Froilán's school years, when it was reported that he had to repeat a year at school, due to poor grades. 

Froilán (pictured, far right) is the grandson of former King Juan Carlos, who abdicated the throne in 2014 after a string of scandals (pictured L-R: Infanta Pilar, Juan Carlos, Princess Elena, and Froilán in Madrid in 2019)

Now, in 2022 alone, the royal was reportedly involved in several incidents, including an April scuffle in which he was said to have been punched in the face after jumping the queue for a nightclub toilet in the Spanish capital.

After an exchange of words with the man waiting to use the facilities, Froilán is alleged to have warned him that he 'didn't know who he was speaking to', before being hit. 

The palace declined to press charges against the attacked.

Also in April, Froilán and his sister, Victoria Federica, 22, were reportedly involved in a traffic accident in the early hours of the morning in Madrid's Salamanca neighbourhood.

The Spanish royal family has been at the centre of a string of scandals over recent decades, with many relating to former king Juan Carlos (pictured) though reigning monarch King Felipe has done his best to inhibit these

The car smashed into several vehicles that were parked in the street, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.

Froilán's sister was driving at the time while he was in the passenger seat. Both were identified by the police but the incident had been kept secret.

Then in July, the royal was among terrified revellers who were caught up in a nightclub shooting after a gunman went on the rampage wounding four people in Marbella.

He was celebrating his 24th birthday in the well-known Costa del Sol nightclub Opium Beach Club when the chaos kicked off, and he and his friends hid behind chairs fearing that a terror attack was in process.  

Froilán de Marichalar (pictured in May) has been at the centre of a number of incidents this year alone, getting caught up in a nightclub shooting in April, though he was not involved 

The shooting is believed to have occurred during a fight between two groups of revellers in a VIP area of the beach club after a man was thrown out moments earlier by bouncers.

He is understood to have returned not long after to confront the gunman, who reacted by pulling out a pistol after being knifed and missing his intended target as he fired the weapon.

Reports of Froilán getting caught up in these incidents follow years of controversy surrounding the Spanish royal family, notably former king Juan Carlos.

Since he abdicated the throne in 2014, his son King Felipe has tried to inhibit the record of scandals in Spain's royal family, during his eight years in reign. 

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