Spain's King Juan Carlos appeared tearful as he ended his reign last night (18.06.14).
The 76-year-old monarch signed an act of parliament ending his reign at a ceremony in Madrid's Royal Palace at midnight, before embracing his son Prince Felipe, who will be sworn in as king later today (19.06.14).
As the royal party had arrived at the palace, cannons fired a salute and shouts of "Long live the King!" could be heard.
Once he signed his abdication, Juan Carlos was applauded by his son, his wife Queen Sofia, and daughter-in-law Princess Letizia.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the swearing-in ceremony today, with Madrid bedecked with flags and flowers adorning the streets, while a red canopy with the state coat of arms embroidered in gold has been erected over the front doors of the lower house of parliament, where Felipe will pass through.
Local residents welcome the change in sovereign.
Carlos Tesorero told Expatica.com: "There's a festive atmosphere. It's a party for this new king.
"All the Spanish people have faith in him. He is very capable and I think he will be a good king."

Britain's Queen Elizabeth is to visit the set of 'Game of Thrones'.
The 88-year-old monarch and her husband Prince Philip are making a three-day visit to Northern Ireland next week, and part of their agenda includes a trip to the Belfast studios where the popular HBO drama series is filmed.
The show is estimated to be the biggest TV production in Europe and has brought over 900 full-time and 5,700 part-time jobs to the region, and has brought a direct economic benefit of £82 million to Northern Ireland.
As well as the set visit, the couple will also pop in on another TV show, 'Antiques Road Show', as their official Northern Irish residence, Hillsborough Castle, is playing host to experts and crew from the programme next week.
The queen and Philip's schedule also includes a visit to the historic Crumlin Road Gaol to see how the prison has been transformed into a popular tourist attraction, and a reception and lunch at Belfast City Hall.
The queen - who last visited Northern Ireland in 2012 - will also attend a Royal British Legion reception in Coleraine in Co. Londonderry to launch a programme of activities commemorating the First World War.
The trip will be the royal couple's 21st to the region.

Kelvin Fletcher gets more attention from gay men than women.
The 'Emmerdale' hunk - who plays Andy Sugden - has revealed how he's become a gay pin-up and receives racy messages from male fans on Twitter.
He told The Sun newspaper: "Most of my saucy comments are from gay guys. Some of them are pretty explicit in the things they say, especially on Twitter.
"There are some fan pages for gay men, who send the most crazy stuff. It's funny.
"I've had women telling me I'm bloody gorgeous but I haven't had any kinky pictures. Everything's been quite tame -- from the women!"
The 30-year-old star, who's been a fixture on the ITV soap for 18 years, admits he doesn't find the naughty messages uncomfortable, but there are some explicit online comments that make him blush.
He explained: "I'm not easily offended so whether it be a compliment or a derogatory comment, it really doesn't bother me.
"They do make me chuckle though -- especially when the things being said by guys are quite graphic about what they'd like to do to me. I'm like, 'Oh, hello!' "
Kelvin feels social media has allowed fans to be bolder in saying things they normally wouldn't.
He added: "If someone stops me in the street, they might not want to say something to my face -- maybe something about 'Emmerdale' or something personal towards me, good or bad. But on Twitter they are hiding behind their keyboard."

Maria Connor will get a new love interest on 'Coronation Street'.
The hairdresser, played by Samia Ghadie, is set to fall for mechanic Luke Britton (Dean Fagan) in the upcoming weeks and could find happiness after a series of disastrous relationships have earned her the nickname of Weatherfield's "black widow".
Dean told the Daily Star newspaper: "I'm pleased to be working with Samia. She said to me when we found out about their romance that she's the black widow of the ladies. I think Luke will try and mend Maria's heart."
Maria was left widowed when her husband Liam Connor was murdered by Tony Gordon. The cold-blooded killer then seduced Maria, but was killed in a factory fire.
The unlucky-in-love brunette also had a doomed fling with her gay best friend Marcus Dent - who cheated on her with Todd Grimshaw - and has recently been stalking her ex-boyfriend Tyrone Dobbs.
However, Maria will have to fight for Luke's attention since he is also set to catch Carla Barlow's eye in the wake of her discovering her husband Peter Barlow's affair with Tina McIntyre.
Dean explained: "He's really flattered but it's also a bit of a challenge. He feels sorry for her because obviously he knows what she's been going through."

Jason Manford struggled as a single dad.
The comedian - who split from his wife Catherine in 2013 following allegations he exchanged a number of flirty Twitter messages with fans - has found it difficult to adapt to bringing up his three young daughters on his own.
He told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It's been an interesting time since I was a single dad. You don't realise how much work your missus was putting in until you do it yourself. I was like, 'This is dead hard, this.'
"It was actually only once I became a single dad I realised just how much work went into this child-rearing business."
The 'A Question of Sport: Super Saturday' presenter - who resigned from the BBC's 'The One Show' following the scandal - decided to get his "priorities" in order and put his kids before work commitments.
He explained: "I'm certainly a better ex-husband than I was a husband. I spent so many months putting work first, thinking I was planning for the future but forgetting about the right now.
"I always thought I was working around the kids but I don't think I was. Now I am. So if half-term comes up or summer holidays I won't do anything for work.
"I didn't miss the big things - I saw their first steps and first words. But I think my priorities have changed now."
He added: "Next time I tour I will just choose my favourite venues and I will do it for a few months and mix it up like that."

Tom Pearce suffered a broken toe in Marbella.
Several stars of 'The Only Way is Essex' returned home worse for wear after a week of hard-partying while shooting the upcoming sunny special, 'The Only Way is Marbs'.
Tom was seen by doctors for a suspected broken toe after fooling around during a photoshoot, while co-stars Chloe and Charlie Sims both came down with bronchitis.
Charlie appears to have passed the illness - which affects the airways of the lungs - on to his sister, who had to miss two days of filming as a result.
A source told The Sun newspaper: "Charlie was the first one to be struck down, after getting bronchitis which he then passed on to his sister.
"Charlie wasn't too bad but Chloe was and had to be taken to a private clinic after it was feared it could turn into pneumonia.
"Tom only had himself to blame for his toe injury after mucking about during a shoot, trying to wrestle the other lads to the ground."
Chloe had her fair share of drama in Marbella as she clashed with brother Charlie's girlfriend Ferne McCann over claims she cheated on her sibling, and even threw a bag at the reality star's head.
The source added: "Chloe got really stressed about her run-in with Ferne after telling her she wasn't well, but all Ferne could say was that she should eat more. That's when Chloe threw her bag at her."

Jeremy Paxman presented his final installment of 'Newsnight' last night (18.06.14).
The 63-year-old broadcaster thanked viewers for watching him on BBC Two's current affairs programme for 25 years as he signed off for the last time.
He said: "Thank you for watching 'Newsnight'. I hope you continue to enjoy it. Goodnight and goodbye."
However, in a funny moment after the credits, Paxman appeared on-screen again to front the weather update.
He quipped: "And tomorrow's weather, more of the same. I don't know why they make such a fuss about it."
The veteran TV presenter injected some humour into his final broadcast by interviewing the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, while riding a tandem bicycle.
Paxman quizzed Johnson on his London bicycle hire scheme, famously dubbed 'Boris Bikes'.
The host announced his decision to quit the topical programme last month.
He said: "After 25 years, I should rather like to go to bed at much the same time as most people.
"This was a decision I reached - and informed the BBC of - last July. I shall work out the remainder of my contract and will not seek another.
"It's been fun. I have had the pleasure of working with lots of clever, creative and amusing people. I think I've been lucky and wish the programme well."
Paxman will continue to present 'University Challenge'.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson sank into depression when his youthful dreams "were dashed".
The 'Hercules' star was devastated when, after failing to make it as an NFL player, he signed with Canadian Football League but was later let go, and then split from girlfriend Dany Garcia - who he later married - and he admits the rejection was too much for him to cope with.
He said: "There was no injury. It's just, 'That's it. You're not good enough.' That was very sobering.
"The dreams I had, they're dashed. There is no more football. My relationship was crushed. That was my absolute worst time.
"I didn't want to do a thing. I didn't want to go anywhere. I was crying constantly. Eventually you reach a point where you are all cried out.
"I didn't know what it was. I didn't know why I didn't want to do anything. I had never experienced anything like that."
The 42-year-old former wrestler also explained how he vowed to transform his physique when he was 14 after he and his mother were evicted from their home.
He explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "We were living in an efficiency that cost $120 a week. We come home, and there's a padlock on the door and an eviction notice. My mom starts bawling. She just started crying and breaking down. 'Where are we going to live? What are we going to do?'
"That was the tipping point. It was about, 'What can I control with these two hands?' The only thing I could do was train and build my body. The successful men I knew were men who built their bodies."
And the 'Scorpion King' star later had to "deconstruct" himself and re-transform his appearance when making the transition from wrestling to Hollywood.
He said: "I was told that I had to conform to a standard in Hollywood that would beget me more work, better roles.
"Which meant I had to stop going to the gym, which meant I couldn't be as big, which meant you had to distance yourself from wrestling. You essentially had to deconstruct yourself."

Jessica Simpson can't decide where to get married.
The 33-year-old star will tie the knot with former NFL player Eric Johnson in just a few weeks, and though they have booked the 78-acre Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara for their nuptials, the blonde beauty is still undecided as to whether she actually wants to get married there.
A source told Us Weekly magazine: "They've booked it for now. But Jess keeps going back and forth on locales."
According to the friend, the couple - who have children Maxwell, two, and Ace, 12 months, together - have been decisive on some aspects of the wedding, with the guest-list finalised and a theme settled on.
The source told Us Weekly magazine: "The wedding will be very rustic-chic."
And it was previously revealed Jessica - who was previously married to Nick Lachey - has her wedding gown all ready.
A source said: "Jessica is having something unique made. It will be very different from the Vera Wang she wore to wed Nick Lachey."
The bride's sister Ashlee Simpson has said she is thrilled with the bridesmaid dress she will wear on the big day.
She said: "My dress is really beautiful! It's really, really stunning."

Lady Gaga has had a trumpet tattooed on her arm.
The 28-year-old singer, who already had more than 10 inkings, including flowers on her hip and a unicorn on her thigh, has now had the musical instrument tattooed on her inner right arm, in honour of jazz musician Tony Bennett.
Gaga posted a photograph of the body art on Instagram on Wednesday (17.06.14), along with caption, "...let's go it's jazz time world (sic)"
The 'G.U.Y' hitmaker, visited a tattoo studio in New York, and was wearing an Iron Maiden T-shirt and her huge curly wig when she was inked by artist Becca Roach.
Her jazz musician friend Brian Newman, who has worked alongside Tony, also payed tribute to the legend with a duplicate tattoo of his trumpet artwork and Gaga posted a snap of them both.
She wrote: "Bennedetto. Tony's an artist. he sketched this trumpet and were getting tattoos @brainnewmanny playing on the tony album and arranging music. Tattoos by @badnewsbecca photo by @skwotty (sic)."
Gaga and Tony surprised students at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Queens earlier this week with a masterclass and performance, including 'The Very Thought Of You', previously covered by Billie Holiday and Nat King Cole, and Cole Porter's 'Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye'.
The 700 students in the audience were also given the opportunity to ask questions during the session.

Miley Cyrus has appealed for Justin Bieber to be allowed to "grow up".
The 21-year-old singer thinks much of the criticism levelled at the 'Believe' hitmaker - who recently apologised after video footage of him making racist remarks when he was 14 was published online - is unfair as most people get to make their youthful mistakes in private.
Speaking on Australia's 'Today' show, she said: "I think people should have time to grow up and figure out who they are.
"I think people need to sit and think of the times in their lives they were not proud of who they were.
"Imagine if that was completely exploited and everyone had their opinions."
However, the 'Wrecking Ball' hitmaker thinks social media is a "blessing" as it allows everyone an outlet for their views.
She said: "Social media is such a blessing. Everyone is allowed have an opinion."
Meanwhile, Miley also revealed a lighting technician was forced to stand in for one of the DJs on her 'Bangerz' tour recently.
She explained: "One of the lightning guys just went out there and DJed. He pretended to have two security guards which were just two other lighting guys dressed in suits."

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