Spain's Supreme Court said it wouldn't hear a paternity claim against the former king, Juan Carlos, after upholding an appeal from his lawyers.

The court "has decided not to admit the paternity claim against Don Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon," the court said in an e-mailed statement. The decision was taken by a majority of seven votes to three, it said.

The decision is a reversal of a ruling earlier this year in which the court said it would hear a paternity suit brought against Juan Carlos by Ingrid Sartiau, a Belgian citizen who claims to be his daughter. In June last year, Juan Carlos, 77, abdicated in favor of his son, who became Felipe VI in a step intended to rejuvenate the monarchy.

The royal family's popularity has suffered as the former monarch's daughter the Princess Cristina became embroiled in a corruption scandal involving her husband. Juan Carlos himself faced a public backlash in 2012 when it emerged he had been on an elephant hunt in Botswana.