Alfonso Zurita Borbón is considered the most discreet and cultured member of the family of King Don Juan Carlos. Son of the Infanta Margarita and Carlos Zurita, Felipe VI’s first cousin, he has a degree in Political Science from the University of Sussex and a Master’s in International Relations and Economics from the John Hopkins University-School of Advanced International Studies.

Enemy of airing his private life, we have discovered that he is 48 years old, he is the godfather of his nephew Carlitos, the son of his sister María, he lives with the latter and his parents in the exclusive Madrid neighborhood of Salamanca, he goes out with a girl of origin Basque for about thirteen years and is a Knight of the Royal Masterships of Seville and Granada and heir to the Duchy of Hernani, a title that his mother holds today.

“My book is addressed to anyone who is interested in our current economic events, but, above all, to an academic audience,” says the author, adding that “the main message is that our economic times are turning out to be the most turbulent and rarefied. The chaos and disorder created by the pandemic leads to a global reconfiguration, a huge unprecedented business and industrial rearrangement. The great collective doubt and loss of confidence in consensus and neoliberal orthodoxy has been rekindled and exacerbated,” he details.

Zurita considers that “we must pay more attention to the underdeveloped areas, ignored or not attended to in order to reduce the gap between rich and poor.”

The pandemic affects us all, our interlocutor admits that “in my family it has meant a total and complete slowdown of activity. Activities of all kinds, especially professionals. At the global level, although the economic recovery from the crisis caused by Covid-19 is expected to be much faster than the two previous global crises, the consequences suffered by the planetary economy are irreversibly changing the economic landscape. Nothing will ever be the same as before the pandemic.”

He doesn’t like being called the brain of his family. “I do not assume at all to be the brain of my family. I’m just trying to do my bit to support and help the causes in which I firmly believe.”

He now refers to the Monarchy represented by his cousin Felipe, with the conviction that, “more than a monarchist, I consider myself a firm believer in the Spanish system created and established by King Juan Carlos I and continued by his son, King Felipe VI. That is, I see myself as a curious believer and citizen of a democratic national system, monarchical constitutional parliamentary“, he sentences.

As heir to the Duchy of Hernani, he is convinced that “the current generation of members of the nobility has contributed to a better view of the aristocracy, although every link in the social class structure is just as important. Without one there can be no other, and without the other one cannot survive.”

As we said at the beginning of this report, Alfonso continues to live in his father’s house: “From a very young age I spent a lot of time outside of Spain studying or working, and I still have a doctorate in Economics. Therefore, for now and until I finish my studies, I continue to live in my parents’ house, delighted”.

Alfonso Zurita and María Zurita.

Alfonso Zurita and María Zurita.

Family discretion

It is very difficult for him to talk about his maternal family, he does not enter into issues such as the exile of his uncle Juan Carlos or the reign of his cousin Felipe. Of course, he tells us that “I have no qualms about talking about one or the other, but I consider that personal and family matters have to remain in the personal and family sphere.”

He does agree to reveal to us what he has about the Zuritas and what about the Bourbons: “I like to believe that I have characteristics, both from my maternal family and from my paternal one. Of the Bourbons, I have the spirit and tenacity, and of the Zurita, the intellect“, he comments.

His best friend and advisor is his little sister, María, who recognizes LA RAZÓN that he adores his brother: “I am very proud of him. His intelligence amazes me more every day. He has a tireless mind. Alfonso does not have children, but he is crazy about his godson, little Carlitos. Uncle and nephew share leisure time at home. The relationship with his cousin Felipe and the infantas Elena and Cristina is unbeatable. According to one of his friends, «the King and his cousin get along very well, they coincide in family gatherings and have a great harmony”.

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