- published: 23 Jan 2013
- views: 14578
The Monarchy of Spain, constitutionally referred to as The Crown and commonly referred to as the Spanish monarchy or (historically) Hispanic Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and a historic office of Spain. The monarchy comprises a reigning King or Queen of Spain, their family, and the royal household organization which supports and facilitates the monarch in the exercise of his royal duties and prerogatives. The monarchy is currently represented by King Juan Carlos I, his wife Queen Sofia, and their children and grandchildren. Opinion polls routinely reveal that the monarchy remains popular by a wide majority of citizens in contemporary Spain, with as many as 75% of Spanish citizens ranking the monarchy above any other public institution in the country. In 2010, the budget for the Spanish monarchy was 7.4 million euros, one of the lowest public expenditures for the institution of monarchy in Europe.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 reestablished a constitutional monarchy as the form of government for Spain. The 1978 constitution affirmed the role of the King of Spain as the personification and embodiment of the Spanish State and a symbol of Spain's enduring unity and permanence. Constitutionally, the king is the head-of-state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. The constitution codifies the use of royal styles and titulary, royal prerogatives, hereditary succession to the crown, compensation, and a regency-guardianship contingency in cases of the monarch's minority or incapacitation. According to the constitution, the monarch is also instrumental in promoting Ibero-American relations, the "nations of its historical community". In this capacity, the King of Spain serves as the president of the Ibero-American States Organization, representing over 700,000,000 people in twenty-four member nations worldwide. In 2008, Juan Carlos I was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America.
Darlene Joyce Zschech ( /dɑrˈliːn ˈtʃɛk/; born Steinhardt on 8 September 1965 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian Pentecostal worship leader and singer-songwriter who primarily writes praise and worship songs. She is the former worship pastor of Hillsong Church and is currently a member of Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith.
As a young adult Zschech sang jingles for a number of international companies including McDonald's, KFC and Coca Cola.
In 2003, Zschech released her first solo album in nine years, entitled Kiss of Heaven. She had earlier released a vinyl album in 1987 called Make The Choice and a cassette album in 1993 called Pearls & Gold. Change Your World followed in 2005. She has since released two albums in 2011 called Simply Darlene and You Are Love. In addition to writing songs, Zschech has written four books: Worship (1996), Extravagant Worship (2002), The Kiss of Heaven (2003) and The Great Generational Transition (2009).
Zschech and her husband were the founding executive directors of Mercy Ministries Australia. In 2009, after an 18-month investigation, they were named by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as being two of several former directors of Mercy Ministries Australia likely for the organisation's "false, misleading and deceptive conduct". They claimed their services were free, but in fact "residents had to sign over their Centrelink benefits during their stay."