Senior members of the Spanish Royal Family and beyond were in Greece earlier this week for the funeral of King Constantine of Greece, Queen Sofia’s brother.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia were there, along with King Juan Carlos, Infanta Cristina and Infanta Elena, who was accompanied by son and daughter Victoria Federica and Felipe Juan Froilán. Also there was Queen Sofia’s sister, Princess Irene.

During their time in Greece, Queen Letizia was seen walking arm-in-arm with Princess Maria-Chantal, King Constantine’s daughter-in-law. Marie-Chantal once fired off a tweet that was interpreted as targeting Queen Letizia.

Greece abolished its monarchy in the 1970’s but the public has softened to those who claim royal titles. The Greek Royal Family is intertwined with the Danish Royal Family, along with German and British royal houses.

King Constantine of Greece, Queen Sofia’s brother and King Felipe’s uncle, died yesterday, according to the media outlets. He was 82.

Constantine was king from 1946 to 1973, when Greeks abolished the monarchy and sent their royals into exile. He had since returned to live in Greece.

Some historians say Greeks were angry about Queen Sofia’s dowry to then-Prince Juan Carlos of Spain. The two were married in Athens.

King Constantine’s downfall, however, stemmed from the country’s political turmoil, and a fight between the military and democratic forces.

Queen Frederica, King Constantine and Queen Sofia’s mother, fled to India with her daughter Irene, who now lives in Spain.

Pope’s funeral

Queen Sofia traveled often to be with her brother in Greece. The Spanish Royal Household has yet to comment.

Her Majesty was in Rome this week for Pope Benedict’s funeral, where she met with Pope Francis.

When Queen Frederica died, Queen Sofia insisted she be buried in Greece over the government’s objections.

King Felipe kicked off his traditional Christmas Eve address discussing the war in Ukraine and its impact on the Spanish economy.

His Majesty, like in previous years, also touched on the threats to democracy and urged Spaniards to coalesce around their freedoms.

King Felipe, speaking from Zarzuela Palace, expressed the government’s belief in the European Union as one of the essential aspects of the country’s future.

King Felipe has spent two days in Brazil attending inauguration ceremonies for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

His Majesty arrived in the Brazilian ahead of the ceremonies Sunday. He met several times with Lula, who is entering his third non-consecutive term in office.

While in Brasilia, King Felipe held a bilateral meeting with Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The King also met with the president of Guinea-Bisáu, Umaro Sissoco.

King Felipe had a chat with U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who headed that country’s delegation.

King Felipe met with King Charles in London while Don Felipe was visiting the British capital for the 135th anniversary of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce there.

The trip was part of an intense pre-Christmas calendar. The two monarchs met at Clarence House in London, where King Charles maintains his residence.

King Felipe also traveled to Qatar last month for the Spanish soccer team’s first World Cup game. His Majesty also met with business leaders and Qatari officials.

Earlier in November, King Felipe and Queen Letizia traveled to Croatia for an official visit. The agenda included visits with Croatian President Zoran Milanović and First Lady Sanja Musić Milanović.

King Felipe traveled to Washington for ceremonies Friday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Georgetown University’s graduate degree in foreign service.

His Majesty, a graduate of Georgetown University, has visited the U.S. capital often to support the university and a studies program named in his honor.

The visit included stops in the Georgetown campus, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the International Monetary Fund.

The official royal calendar did not include a visit with President Joe Biden, who met with King Felipe and Queen Letizia during a visit to Madrid this summer.

A crowd in Barcelona cheered King Felipe and Queen Letizia last week for the 175th anniversary of the Circulo del Liceo private club.

The group, housed at Barcelona’s famed Liceo theater, brands itself a “reference for the social and cultural life of Barcelona and Catalonia.”

King Felipe and Queen Letizia were booed at the same theater in 2013 when they were still heirs to the throne. The reaction foreshadowed growing separatist and republican sentiment in Catalonia fueled by the financial crisis and then-King Juan Carlos’ scandals.

Paraguay visit

Also last week, the King and Queen welcomed the president and first lady of Paraguay for a visit to Spain.

The visit by President Mario Abdo Benítez and his wife, Silvana López Moreira Bó, included a lunch at the Madrid Royal Palace.

Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish throne, returned to the country last week from school in Wales to help lead the Princess of Asturias Awards with other members of the Royal Family.

King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Queen Sofia and Infanta Sofia all attended the main ceremony at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo on Friday. Events started on Thursday and went into the weekend.

The Princess of Asturias Awards are the Spanish Royal Family’s top international prizes. They’re different from the country’s merit medals and royal orders, like the Order of the Golden Fleece.

Princess Leonor was absent during an awards ceremony this weekend to honor an exemplary town in the Principality of Asturias, one of the early Christian realms that birthed modern Spain. Queen Letizia said both her daughters weren’t feeling well. But Princess Leonor was on hand to greet members of the Cadavéu community.

Winners included:

-Arts: Carmen Linares and María Pagés.

-Social sciences: Eduardo Matos Moctezuma.

-Communications and humanities: Adam Michnik.

-Concord: Shigeru Ban.

-International cooperation: Ellen MacArthur.

-Sports: Refugee Olympic Team.

-Science: Geoffrey Hinton, Yann LeCun, Yoshua Bengio and Demis Hassabis.

-Letters: Juan Mayorga.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited Germany for a three day state visit last week, which included multiple stops around the country.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, welcomed Their Majesties at the Belleview presidential palace and later held a state dinner.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia also visited Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey and walked to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.

King Felipe held meetings alone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde.

Queen Letizia also made several solo visits, including a stop at the Cervantes Institute of Spanish language and culture in Frankfurt.

The state visit, according to custom, also included meetings with business leaders and Spaniards living and working in Germany.

Members of the Spanish Royal Family presided over the Fiesta de la Hispanidad national day military parade in Madrid Wednesday.

King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofia watched the parade with top government officials, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Their Majesties then hosted a reception at the Royal Palace. Princess Leonor was not in attendance today because she’s away at school.

Spain’s national day coincides with the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ first landing in the Americas. It also coincides with Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S.

Several Latin American countries celebrate the Day of the Race or some variation.