Spain's King Juan Carlos I underwent hip replacement surgery in Madrid on Saturday after breaking his right hip in a fall during a private trip to Botswana, the Royal Household said. The 74-year-old monarch, who suffers from osteoarthritis, tripped on a step at the residence he was staying at and sustained a fracture "in three fragments" of his hip, doctors who treated him at Madrid's San Jose hospital said.
Spanish newspaper El Pais said on its website that the king had travelled to Botswana to hunt elephants. Doctors said the king, who had a lung operation in 2010 and knee and foot surgery in 2011, will be able to gradually resume his official duties in about 10 days.
In his absence, Prince Felipe, his son and heir to the throne, will take his place at some meetings scheduled for Monday. A keen sailor, the king has had at least five hunting and skiing accidents in the past, some of them requiring surgery. His is the second accident involving a member of Spain's royal family this week.
On Monday, Felipe Juan Froilan, the 13-year-old son of the king's eldest daughter Infanta Elena, accidentally shot himself in the foot with a shotgun while doing target practice outside a family home north of Madrid. The incident was reminiscent of a more serious royal shooting accident in 1956 when King Juan Carlos's 14-year-old brother, Alfonso, was shot dead at the royal family's home.
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