Prince Felipe helped lead the Spanish delegation to former South African President Nelson Mandela’s fineral this week.
King Juan Carlos released an open letter expressing his condolences shortly after Mandela’s death.
The King and Queen, plus Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia also sent telegrams to the South African government and Mandela’s family.
King Juan Carlos has always had a healthy sense of humor.
Now, according to recent news reports, his new surgeon, Dr. Cabanela, revealed that His Majesty pretended to fall as a practical joke to health aides.
Cabanela also said the King tried to reach him at home but spoke to his wife instead. Cabanela said his wife was startled by the telephonic encounter.
“I think the King has called you and I thought it was a joke,” Cabanela’s wife supposedly said, “and I was about to tell him I was the Queen!”
The King recently had his second scheduled operation and is now in recovery.
Meanwhile, Queen Sofia yesterday attended a Christmas concert at the Teatro Real in Madrid.
Media reports indicate the Queen is now in Geneva for the birthday of one of Infanta Cristina’s children.
Prince Felipe showed off his knowledge of French recently during Madrid’s attempt to host the Olympics in 2020.
Last week he whipped out his Portuguese in a video to address a Spanish-Brazilian business forum.
Prince Felipe was scheduled to travel to Brazil for the meeting but problems with his Spanish Air Force airplane forced him to cancel.
Spanish newspaper El País recently debuted a site in Portuguese for Brazilian audiences.
Also last week, His Royal Highness participated in a military training exercise in Zaragoza.
While he was there, his mother, Queen Sofia, visited pandas at the Madrid Zoo.
Her Majesty is known for a keen interest in animals and has been photographed with pandas before.
King Juan Carlos underwent hip replacement surgery today in Madrid, as planned. A previous surgery this year was provisional.
Now that they are back from the U.S., Queen Sofia and Prince Felipe visited the King at the hospital. The Queen went straight from the airport.
Queen Sofia awarded gold medals to former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and actor Antonio Banderas from the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute in New York City.
While in New York, Her Majesty also visited a school in the South Bronx, a heavily Hispanic area.
Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia were on a whirlwind official trip to the U.S. earlier this week.
Their Royal Highnesses visited sites in California and then Florida, which included meetings with American politicians, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R).
Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia also visited cultural sites, met with business leaders, spoke with U.S.-based Spaniards and toured news outlets, including the Los Ageles Times and Univision in Miami.
Not surprisingly, the heirs to the Spanish throne highlighted the importance of Hispanic culture to the U.S.
The Spanish government agency that runs Royal homes and properties will compensate laborers who used to work on the King’s yacht the Fortuna.
The King and other members of the Royal Family have decided to stop regular sailing, mainly to conform with Spain’s current climate of austerity.
The former workers sued the agency, Patrimonio Nacional, and a contractor after their termination.
El Pais reported they will share more than 1 million euros in compensation.
Balearic Islands Judge José Castro this month seized the Barcelona mansion of King Juan Carlos’ daughter, Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma, and her husband Iñaki Urdangarin, Duke of Palma.
The mansion and other properties are serving as bond in the ongoing corruption case surrounding Urdangarin and former business partner Diego Torres, several news outlets reported.
Authorities accuse the Duke of using a non-profit company to make money from contracts with various government entities. He has claimed innocence.
The Barcelona mansion has been empty, with Infanta Cristina now living and working in Switzerland.
The home is, of course, not among the official Royal Palaces owned by the Spanish state or by local governments.
Click here for pictures of the home.
Update: A Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor involved in the case has again said he has no intention of formally involving Infanta Cristina as a suspect.
Photographer Annie Leibovitz and scientist Peter Higgs were among this year’s recipients of the annual Prince of Asturias awards, held in Oviedo, capital of the Principality of Asturias in Spain.
The awards are among the most important events that the Spanish Royal Family puts on every year. The ceremony is broadcast live on television and brings out thousands of spectators.
Beyond the formal events at Campoamor Theater and the Hotel of the Reconquest, the Prince and Princess of Asturias also award a town in the principality.
This year they recognized the community of Teverga for working to overcome the downturn in mining related employment.
Prince Felipe has been taking on an increasingly visible role in recent years after King Juan Carlos’ multiple operations.
King Juan Carlos, who recently underwent hip surgery, was notably not present for the Fiesta Nacional military parade in Madrid.
Prince Felipe, who is playing an increasingly visible role, presided over the Saturday event, along with his wife Princess Letizia.
Queen Sofia and Infanta Elena joined them later for a reception at the Royal Palace.
The Prince of Asturias stepping in for his father more and more has led to news outlets and politicians to suggest changes in the Constitution or at least Spanish law to give the Prince more of an official role.
The King and his son did meet with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and other officials at Zarzuela Palace today to discuss the upcoming Ibero-American Summit.
The Prince, because he is not a head of state or government, will not be able to step in for his father to lead the Spanish delegation. Instead he will host associated events.
Also in recent days, Queen Sofia celebrated her brother in law Carlos Zurita, the Duke of Soria, who heads a booster group for the famed Prado museum.
And in the ongoing saga over the corruption investigation plaguing the King’s son on law, Infanta Cristina’s husband, El País reported that their Barcelona home is on sale to make bond.
In recent days news outlets have been reporting about leaked information about the couple’s expenses, including shrimp fajitas at a Washington, D.C. area restaurant.
LOS BORBONES 