A Spanish court has ordered the family of General Franco, the dictator who dominated the country for nearly forty years, to return a palace to the people.

"The state instigated the claim over the Pazo de Meirás in the northwestern region of Galicia last year as part of efforts to remove the last vestiges of the far-right authoritarian regime," The Times reported.

Francisco Franco led Spain from 1939 to 1975. He was one of the organizers of the military coup in 1936, which led to the civil war in the country up to 1939. After defeating the Republicans, Franco established a right-wing authoritarian regime in Spain. In 1947, he proclaimed Spain a kingdom, with the establishment of royal power delayed until he retired from politics.

Franco died in 1975 aged 82 from a heart attack and was buried in the monumental Valley of the Fallen complex near Madrid. On October 24, 2019, his remains were moved to the Mingorrubio cemetery.