King Juan Carlos of Spain left a private clinic in Barcelona yesterday two weeks after surgeons removed a benign growth from his lung, and was set to resume his official duties.

The 72-year-old king returned to Madrid after walking unaided out of the clinic, where he has been resting since he was discharged from a hospital in the city on May 11.

He was to meet with Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

The growth in the king's right lung had been detected on April 28 and doctors decided it was necessary to remove it and examine it.

His surgeon said in an interview published last week that he was "very lucky" that the cells were benign and not cancerous.

Born on January 5, 1938, Juan Carlos Alfonso Victor Maria de Borbon y Borbon became king on November 22, 1975, two days after the death of right-wing dictator General Francisco Franco. He is considered a pillar of democratic Spain, having played a key role during the country's transition to democracy after Franco's long dictatorship and an attempted military coup in 1981.

Over the last few years Crown Prince Felipe has taken a more leading role in royal affairs.