King Juan Carlos traveled to Panama over the weekend to celebrate the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is finally finished.
Spain’s Sacyr Vallehermoso SA helped lead construction of the canal’s expanded capacity.
Queen Letizia helped honor Queen Sofia, her mother-in-law, for work preventing drug addiction.
Queen Sofia has taken more of a back seat since her husband, King Juan Carlos, abdicated the Spanish throne.
But Queen Sofia remains active with royal events and shepherding her foundation. Groups have been awarding her for her help.
Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia have always seemed to have a close relationship.
Queen Letizia knows she doesn’t have her mother-in-law’s blue blood, but has the life experience and speaking abilities necessary to complement her.
Queen Letizia is not as close to her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos, who has never fully warmed up to her.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, long known to be a distant couple, have taken part in a series of events together.
Last week, Their Majesties attended a ceremony for the publication of Bulgarian King Simeon’s memoirs.
The Bulgarian royals in exile have set roots in Spain and created close ties with Spain’s monarchs.
Separately, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia recently visited an art exhibit at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were also together during a visit to Spain by former Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
Madrid’s Teatro Español this month opened a long-awaited play about Queen Sofia.
The work, written by Ignacio García May, focuses on Queen Sofia’s long life as one of Europe’s foremost royals.
Her Majesty has lived through wars, in exile, and has had complicated relationships with her mother, the late Greek Queen Frederica, and her husband, King Juan Carlos I.
Separately, Queen Letizia dropped in on Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, who is filming a movie called “The Queen of Spain.”
The drama and comedy is about the production of a movie about Queen Isabella.
Madrid and its surrounding have been host to several high profile royal events in recent days.
Beatrix of the Netherlands, who abdicated in favor of her son in 2013, was in the city yesterday to celebrate Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch, known in Spain as El Bosco.
Queen Beatrix also spent time with King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia during a lunch at the Palace of Zarzuela outside Madrid.
Over the weekend King Felipe and Queen Letizia presided over ceremonies for Armed Forces Day.
The King also escaped to Milan over the weekend for the final of UEFA Champions League 2016 game between Madrid’s two football clubs.
Members of the modern Spanish Royal Family have always been said to be close to their people.
Their agenda in recent weeks has been evidence of that.
Last week King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited communities located to the south of Madrid — Villanueva de los Infantes, Tomelloso and Talavera de la Reina.
Their Majesties greeted large crowds and made balcony appearances, as is the custom in large parts of Spain.
The King and Queen also attended a mass at the Almudena Cathedral adjacent to the Madrid Royal Palace for the victims of the recent earthquake in Ecuador.
King Juan Carlos was in Switzerland last week to support Seville in its game against Liverpool for the UEFA final.
And Queen Sofia attended a concert in the community of El Escorial, site of a large royal palace and pantheon, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Charles III’s birth.
Earlier this month King Felipe, news outlets reported, made a spontaneous stop at a roadside restaurant for lunch. It seems bad weather affected his itinerary.
King Felipe and King Juan Carlos both celebrated the COTEC Foundation for Spanish innovation.
That both Kings attended the Madrid ceremony underlines the importance of promoting innovation and economic recovery to the Spanish government.
In recent days, Queen Letizia presided over a ceremony in Albacete for the Red Cross.
Queen Sofia has also been busy, including with a flag ceremony at Royal Guard headquarters near the Palace of El Pardo outside Madrid.
King Felipe met briefly with Pope Francis earlier this month during an awards ceremony at Vatican City.
The pontiff was receiving an award for promoting European unity. And Don Felipe got the chance to meet with several of the continent’s leaders, including German President Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi.
King Felipe today dissolved parliament for the first time in Spanish democratic history.
His Majesty formalized that political parties were unable to come up with a governing coalition.
If members of the Spanish Parliament are unable to cobble together a government following elections, the Constitution calls on the King to act.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were together again this week for the 70th birthday celebration of Swedish King Carl Gustaf.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia are known to be a distant couple, but they are sometimes together at family events or gatherings involving European royals.
News outlets recently confirmed Her Majesty had a private lunch with British Queen Elizabeth II.
The magazine Hola also recently featured Don Juan Carlos and Infanta Elena presiding over a bullfight in Seville. Both are among the royals most attached to Spanish traditions.
LOS BORBONES 