By Lewis Macdonald and Aislinn Laing

PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's disgraced former king, Juan Carlos, feels abandoned and misunderstood, including by his son and heir, King Felipe VI, and by other close family members, according to his memoir that went on sale in France on Wednesday.

In "Reconciliation", Juan Carlos, 87, said he understood why Felipe needed to be "firm as king" in public, keeping his father at a distance, but said it was painful that "as a son he should be insensitive".

Juan Carlos, who played a key role in Spain's transition to democracy after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, said he bitterly regretted an affair with Danish-German socialite Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, saying it had harmed his reputation among his compatriots and led to his downfall and self-imposed exile in Abu Dhabi.

"I gave freedom to the Spanish people by establishing democracy but I was never able to enjoy that freedom for myself,"........

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