Finally there was a photograph of Felipe VI and Juan Carlos I at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. The protocol service of the palace of buckingham gave more importance to relationship than to position and placed all the royals together by families, so that the current monarchs of Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain sat with their heirs or their emeritus. Felipe was at one end of the second bench followed by his wife, Letizia, Juan Carlos and Sofía, promoting the first photograph of father and son together in two and a half years. They had not been seen in public like this since another funeral, that of the Infanta Pilar (sister of the emeritus), in January 2020.
The two marriages already coincided on Sunday afternoon at the reception offered by King Charles III to all the dignitaries who have traveled to London for the funeral of Elizabeth II, although the Zarzuela did not facilitate the production of a photograph of the four together and decided that the two couples would enter separately. The House of the King is uncomfortable with any movement that appears to be a rapprochement between the current head of state and his father, with whom he broke up in March 2020 after announcing that he will renounce the inheritance that may correspond to him. At that time several informations about the hidden fortune of the emeritus were published.
There is no before and after
But while at Sunday’s reception the Zarzuela could control the image of the current head of state, at the Westminster ceremony, however, all the responsibility fell on the Buckingham protocol service. The King’s House insisted a lot that they would follow the instructions of the British authorities and, finally, a photograph of the two kings together was given which, as this newspaper has learned, has not altered one iota strained relationship between father and son. There has been no rapprochement or improved communication between them. There is no before and after London for the Spanish royal family despite the snapshot.
According to Zarzuela sources, Felipe VI’s advisers learned of the placement of the two couples on Monday morning, when they arrived at the Royal Chelsea Hospital, where members of royalty and heads of state and government from around the world gathered before leaving on buses for Westminster.
No information on the emeritus
In the afternoon, already at the queen’s funeral at Windsor Castle, Felipe VI and Sofía were there. Letizia could not attend because she had to fly to New York to participate in some events parallel to the UN General Assembly that he has this Tuesday and Juan Carlos I declined the invitation. These details were known by the Casa del Rey, which, however, did not provide information or when and how the emeritus arrived in London (his son, his wife and his daughter-in-law did it on Sunday on an official flight from Madrid) nor did he give details when he would leave the city and if he would go to Abu Dhabi, where he has lived since August 2020. He did specify, however, that he stayed with Sofia at the same hotel in the capital and that Felipe VI and Letizia did so at the residence of the Spanish ambassador.
The funeral of Elizabeth II They have become for the Casa del Rey, like everything that has to do with Juan Carlos I, a headache due to the coincidence of the two kings. On this occasion, moreover, as the invitation It came directly to the two couples from the British royal family and the setting is London, the ultimate responsibility for what was done and what was not done has fallen squarely on Felipe and Letizia, and the central government has not been seen involved in the matter.
The current head of state has to deal with a very uncomfortable situation for his entire family. For his father, for himself, for Letizia, with whom Juan Carlos and she never got along with him, and with her mother, whom her husband has put in a bind by having to keep up appearances, despite information about their extramarital affairs.
The strategy of leaving Spain to live in order to avoid collateral damage to the institution is having dubious success and embarrassing episodes have increased in recent months: since the May visit of Juan Carlos I, which became a media show, until this historic funeral. In the end, Felipe VI is under some spotlights that he wanted to avoid.
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The father could have declined the invitation to the funeral, something that would have avoided the family imbroglio, but he did not. His relationship with Elizabeth II, with whom there were also family ties, was good during his reign, despite the perennial clash over Gibraltarand wanted to say goodbye to her.
La Zarzuela was struggling this Monday to turn the page and remember Felipe VI’s work schedule for this Tuesday: he will present an award to Rafa Nadal and receive the winners of the “What is a king for you?” contest. Difficult question to answer at this juncture.