'The hostility always goes to the woman': Juan Carlos I's ex-mistress, 56, compares herself to Wallis Simpson as she questions why she was blamed for the 82-year-old Spanish king's downfall

The ex-mistress of Spain's scandal hit former King Juan Carlos I has compared herself to Wallis Simpson as she says she was blamed for a man's downfall. 

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 56, who lives in London, had an affair with the 82-year-old royal between 2004 and 2009.

Juan Carlos, who is married to Queen Sofia, 81, left his homeland in August after it was claimed he allegedly received millions of euros from Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah. 

The ex-mistress of Spain's scandal hit former King Juan Carlos I, Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, has compared herself to Meghan Markle and Wallis Simpson

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 56, who resides in London, had an affair with Juan Carlos I from 2004 to 2009. Pictured: The former couple with architect Manfred Osterwald in Stuttgart in 2006

Wallis Simpson and and her husband, the Duke of Windsor, pictured in the Bahamas circa 1942

In an interview with The Telegraph, Ms zu Sayn-Wittgenstein questioned why 'hostility is always channeled towards the woman'. 

She compared herself to a modern-day Wallis Simpson, the American socialite who stirred controversy by marrying the Duke of Windsor, the former British king Edward VIII, and also drew comparisons to the Duchess of Sussex. 

'There is a tendency that when people cannot control a powerful man, they destroy the object of his affection,' she told the newspaper. 

'This narrative still survives to this day. You can even see it with Meghan and Harry. 

'The hostility always goes to the woman and the poor man is this helpless creature who has been horribly manipulated and it is the woman who has plunged the country into a huge crisis.'  

Queen Letizia, King Felipe VI, Infanta Sofia, Infanta Leonor, Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia pictured on April 1 2018 in Madrid

Corinna's relationship with the then King of Spain was catapulted into the limelight in 2012 after he broke his hip during a safari trip to Botswana, on which she had accompanied him. 

Remembering their ill-fated hunting holiday to Botswana eight years ago, Corinna told the BBC back in August: 'I wasn't keen on going on this trip... I felt that King Juan Carlos was trying to get me to come back to him, and I didn't want to give a false impression. I almost had premonitions about this trip.' 

She concluded that the media circus which followed was masterminded by the royal establishment, who wanted to 'speed up an abdication' and have her out of the picture.

'From the moment I came back from that trip I was under full-blown surveillance,' Corinna told the BBC. 

'This was the beginning of a campaign to paint me as this Wallis Simpson, Lady Macbeth, evil character who'd led this wonderful man astray on this trip during a big economic crisis.'

Corinna has claimed that the Centro Internacional de Inteligencia , Spanish intelligence, began harassing her (pictured in London on 16 June 2017)

She alleged that the Centro Internacional de Inteligencia , Spanish intelligence, began harassing her.

First, she claimed, her Monaco apartment was occupied by security agents who all belonged to a Monegasque company mandated by Spain and later by Spanish agents. 

She also claimed she believed she was tailed on a business trip to Brazil. 

Corinna said an anonymous threat was made about there being 'many tunnels between Monaco and Nice' - a reference to Princess Diana's fatal car crash.

Furthermore, she claimed a book about the British royal's death was left in the living room of her Swiss apartment.

After the Botswana trip, she claimed Juan Carlos 'gifted' her €65 million (£59 million) out of guilt for the 'intense pressure' she came under and as an expression of his love.

That colossal transfer of funds is now the subject of a Swiss inquiry.  

The former king, who abdicated in 2014, is under investigation by Spain's supreme court over corruption allegations which centre on a $100million payment by the late king of Saudi Arabia.

Last month, Juan Carlos announced he was leaving Spain and it has recently emerged that he is staying in Abu Dhabi.