Madrid  - A southern Spanish mayor is under investigation by prosecutors in view of possibly charging him with insults to King Juan Carlos, press reports said Friday.

Juan Antonio Barroso, mayor of the town of Puerto Real near Cadiz, described the 70-year-old monarch as "corrupt," "son of bastards" and "despicable."

The Bourbon monarchy was historically corrupt, Barroso charged.

The politician belonging to the republican far-left party Izquierda Unida was speaking at an act commemorating the establishment of Spain's 1931-39 Second Republic.

Barroso faces up to two years in prison for insults to the crown.

The mayor said he was not worried about the legal action taken against him, expressing hope that he had laid "the first stone in the coming of the Third Republic."

Spain's royal family enjoys widespread popularity. In 2007, Spaniards saw unprecedented protests against King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, when Catalan separatists burned their pictures at anti- Spanish rallies. (dpa)