King Felipe and Queen Letizia this month led the country’s second state ceremony for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic and those continuing to suffer and sacrifice because of the disease.
Their Majesties presided over the ceremony at the Madrid Royal Palace and awarded four posthumous Grand Crosses of Civil Merit to health workers who died caring for pandemic patients.
Spanish Royal Household
Members of Spain’s Royal Family have been active in response to the pandemic following concern King Felipe had been to slow to speak about the crisis. He first delivered televised remarks to the nation in mid-March 2020.
King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia honored a broad collection of Spaniards for their sacrifice during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The King awarded several Order of Civil Merit medals to coincide with his seventh anniversary on the throne. Recipients included a cashier and a farm worker.
Spanish Royal Household
The Royal Family held the ceremony at the Madrid Royal Palace’s Hall of Columns, known for hosting highly important events in Spanish history.
King Felipe got vaccinated for COVID-19 over the weekend, the Royal Household told media outlets. There were no photographers and aides did not say which one of the vaccine types he received.
His Majesty got vaccinated at the Wizink Center in Madrid along with other members of the public. He did so according to public health guidelines.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia during Armed Forces Day in May. Spanish Royal Household
Critics expressed concern when the King’s sisters — Infanta Cristina and Infanta Elena — got vaccinated during a trip to the Middle East to see their father, Jung Juan Carlos.
King Felipe has tested negative for the novel coronavirus but will keep taking precautions, the Royal Household said.
The King went into voluntary quarantine in recent days after coming into contact with someone turned out positive for COVID-19.
On Friday His Majesty participated remotely in a meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean, which is based in Barcelona.
King Felipe during his video address, in which he called for more regional unity and dialogue. Spanish Royal Household
Other members of the Royal Family have continued making public appearances despite the public health emergency. They do so masked and following social distancing guidelines.
Queen Sofia last week presided over a ceremony at the Madrid Royal Palace for the Queen Sofia Awards for Ibero-American Poetry.
Spanish Royal Household
Queen Letizia, also last week, helped inaugurate the Tourism Innovation Summit in Seville.
Spanish Royal Household
Queen Letizia is due in Valancia today for the Rei Jaume I 2020 Awards, according to the royal calendar.
King Felipe yesterday went into a self-imposed quarantine after coming in contact with someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19, the Royal Household said, according to media outlets.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia have been leading a heavy agenda despite the pandemic picking back up. The monarch’s activities have now been suspended.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia during a journalism awards ceremony this month. Spanish Royal Household
Members of the Spanish Royal Family have had several COVID-19 scares but no positive diagnosis.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia have been crisscrossing Spain for the past several week during a delicate time for the country and the Royal Family.
Their Majesties worked to be active during the pandemic lockdown and have been visible during the reopening, including visiting several museums and cultural attractions.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia at the Prado Museum in Madrid to launch the Spain for Sure tourism campaign in June. Spanish Royal Household
They have also visited beaches and walked through numerous communities. Their visits have been informal and meant to connect them with regular people.
The King and Queen in the Canary Islands. Spanish Royal Household
Spaniards, fed up with corruption, the Catalan crisis, recession and scandal, have taken out their frustrations on the governing class — including the Monarchy. Despite the Royal Family’s efforts, many people see them as not having done enough to fight COVID-19.
The King and Queen in Aragon. Spanish Royal Household
Then there’s King Juan Carlos, who is embroiled in a financial scandal related to $100 million gift from the Saudis, some of which may have ended up in the hands of a former lover.
King Felipe has disconnected himself from his father financially and discussions are ongoing about the elder monarch’s status within the Royal Family.
Spain’s Princess Leonor, the heir to the throne, and Infanta Sofia took to social media last month to thank medical workers and other professionals on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
The princesses recorded a video posted on YouTube and on Twitter, part of the Royal Household’s effort to be visible and active during the ongoing lockdown.
Leonor, the Princess of Asturias, and her sister also recorded themselves reading a section of Spanish literary masterpiece Don Quixote. Several personalities participated to mark World Book Day.
Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma, a distant relative of King Felipe, died of COVID-19 in late March. She was the world’s first royal to die of the disease.
Princess Maria Teresa of Bourbon-Parma during the 1960s. Wikipedia
Princess Maria Teresa, who died in Paris, was a professor, feminist and political activist. Known as the “red princess,” Doña Maria Teresa was a Carlist, a descendent of an alternative pretender for the Spanish throne.
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