At 1:14 on 24 February, a speech by Juan Carlos was broadcast on national television, with the King wearing the uniform of the Captain General of the Armed Forces (Capitán General de los Ejércitos), the highest Spanish military rank, to oppose the coup and its instigators, defend the Spanish Constitution, and disavow the authority of Milans del Bosch. In the speech, recorded shortly before at the Palace of Zarzuela, he declared:
