The royal family, on holiday in Majorca, held their traditional media event yesterday; an evening of some fifteen minutes being photographed in the grounds of Palma's Almudaina Palace, followed by questions and answers.
The photo opportunities are normally at the royal residence, the Marivent Palace. This year they were at the Almudaina, which is where King Felipe and Queen Letizia will hold their reception for Balearic society on Friday.
This was the first appearance of the family in Palma since what was something of a PR disaster at Easter. Queen Letizia had stepped in to try and prevent photos being taken of the Queen Mother, Sofia, with the heir to the throne, Leonor, Princess of Asturias, following mass at the Cathedral on Easter Sunday.
On that occasion, the former king, Juan Carlos, had been present after a period of some years not having come to Majorca at Easter. He was due to have come for the summer holidays as well and to have taken part in the Copa del Rey regatta. The official version for his absence is that doctors have advised him against making the trip from Madrid because of a wrist injury. The other version has to do with revelations from Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, with whom it is widely believed he had an affair. These amount to what could be alleged money laundering.
King Felipe said yesterday that his father was annoyed at not having been able to make the trip to Palma. He had been looking forward to it, but doctors had recommended otherwise.
Twelve-year-old Princess Leonor, meanwhile, spoke about the summer camp in the US which she and her sister had been on. It had been fun. They had done a lot of sport and had met children from other countries. The King added that both his daughters know a lot of English; the King himself has an excellent command of English.
The first official engagement is today (Monday), when the King and Queen will meet politicians at the Almudaina.
