Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Spain's King Juan Carlos is abdicating after almost 40 years on the throne and his son Prince Felipe will succeed him, the Spanish prime minister has announced , Agencies reported.

Juan Carlos, whose health is failing and has had a number of hip operations in recent years, is stepping down for personal reasons, Mariano Rajoy said on Monday.

"His majesty, King Juan Carlos, has just communicated to me his will to give up the throne," he said.

Once popular Juan Carlos, 76, who helped smooth Spain's transition to democracy in the 1970s after the Francisco Franco dictatorship, has lost public support in recent years due to corruption scandals and gaffes.

His popularity also dipped following royal scandals, including an elephant-shooting trip he took in the middle of Spain's financial crisis that tarnished the monarch's image.

Juan Carlos's daughter, Princess Cristina, and her husband, Inaki Urdangarin, are under investigation in a corruption case.