Editing Francisco Franco (section)

== Succession ==
[[File:In Madrid is herdacht dat Franco 30 jaar geleden de burgeroorlog ( 1936 1939 ) w, Bestanddeelnr 922-4913 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Franco with Prince [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos]] in 1969]]
In the late 1960s, the ageing Franco decided to name a monarch to succeed his regency, but the simmering tensions between the [[Carlists]] and the [[Legitimists|Alfonsoists]] continued. In 1969, Franco formally nominated as his heir-apparent Prince [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Juan Carlos de Borbón]], who had been educated by him in Spain,<ref name="Prseton2014">{{cite magazine |last1=Preston |first1=Paul |title=Four Decades of Triumph and Trials |url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/Images/People/Emeritus-Distinguished-Staff/preston/PrestonFourDecadesofTriumphandTrial.pdf |access-date=18 November 2023 |magazine=Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist |date=July 2014 |page=16}}</ref> with the new title of [[Prince of Spain]], suggested by [[Laureano López Rodó]] to avoid a confrontation with Juan Carlos's father, [[Juan de Borbón|Juan de Borbón, the Count of Barcelona]].<ref name="Tusell">{{cite book |last1=Tusell |first1=Javier |title=Spain: From Dictatorship to Democracy |date=2011 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4443-3974-1 |page=218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LRbcEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA218}}</ref> This designation came as a surprise to the Carlist pretender to the throne, [[Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma]], as well as to Don Juan.<ref name="Powell201636">{{cite book |last1=Powell |first1=Charles |title=Juan Carlos of Spain: Self-Made Monarch |date=2016 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-24423-2 |pages=36–37, 215–216 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1hK_DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA215}}</ref>

As his final years progressed, tensions within the various factions of the ''Movimiento'' would consume Spanish political life, as varying groups jockeyed for position in an effort to win control of the country's future.