The 2nd Spanish Republic never came back from exile. Franco arranged his succession into Juan Carlos I restoring the Monarchy, there was never any intention to restore the republic. Franco clashed often with D. Juan, father of Juan Carlos I and in terms of lineage the right candidate to the throne. Eventually it became clear that Franco was there to stay and D. Juan accepted Franco's plan abdicating and passing his rights on to his son Juan Carlos who would be king when the time came, this is after Franco's death.