Spain's former king Juan Carlos has achieved partial success in defending against the civil suit brought by his former close friend Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein before a London appeals court. The court granted an application by its lawyers who had requested immunity for their client. However, the judges only granted the former monarch protection from justice for his actions up until his abdication on June 18, 2014, the court said on Tuesday. Last March, the High Court ruled that Juan Carlos could not invoke immunity at all.

The proceedings, in which zu Sayn-Wittgenstein claims damages because she and her family were threatened between 2012 and 2014, their houses were broken into and they were "monitored", can therefore be continued, wrote the Spanish state TV -Broadcaster RTVE and other Spanish media - but only with regard to possible actions on behalf of Juan Carlos after the abdication. The plaintiff claims that the acts she cited were carried out by the then head of the Spanish secret service CNI and CNI agents on behalf of Juan Carlos.

Juan Carlos, who lives in exile in Abu Dhabi, has had the allegations rejected.