Solemn and very important day for the Spanish Royal Family. This Wednesday, June 19, 2024, marks 10 years since the proclamation as king of Spain of Philip VI (56 years). A tenth anniversary that the monarch has celebrated with Letizia (51) and her two daughters, the princess Eleanor (18) and the infanta Sofia (17), in the Madrid’s royal palace on a day full of events.
Among the ceremonies, they have stood out especially he solemn relief of the Royal Guard – the first that the Kings have witnessed – in the Plaza de la Armería, the imposition of award to twenty citizens for their contribution to society and a institutional lunch. Without a doubt, the image of the day was starred by the monarchs and their daughters from the balcony of the Royal Palace.
A tradition that Felipe VI and Letizia have recovered. It has been, there is no doubt, a exciting morning for the Kings and their daughters. one of the great anecdotes of the day was starred by Letizia on the balcony. Seven minutes into the solemn act, The Queen had to sit down.
[Felipe VI, Letizia, Leonor y Sofía vuelven al balcón 10 años después de la proclamación del Rey: la histórica imagen]
The Queen, sitting on the balcony of the Royal Palace, this Wednesday, June 19.
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He pain of Letizia has forced him to sit down at a given moment of the day, slightly tarnishing this historic day. It must be remembered that last May it was made public that the Queen suffered a fracture in the middle toe of the right foot, as a result of a domestic accident.
A problem that adds to the illness he suffers, known as Morton’s neuroma. It is not the first time that Felipe VI’s wife takes a seat at an institutional event. In April 2024, during the gala dinner offered by the kings of the Netherlands in the Amsterdam Royal PalaceLeonor de Borbón’s mother used a stool to relieve her pain during the hand kisser.
On that occasion, he had not yet broken the toe on his right foot: he was ‘only’ dealing with his illness in his left foot. That was the first time the monarch had to sit down in an act of those characteristics due to the neuroma, which consists of a pinched nerve in the metatarsal bone that causes pain and inflammation when standing without moving for a long time.
The condition is linked to chronic metatarsalgia that Letizia has been suffering from for several years, a fairly common injury that causes discomfort in the support area of the sole of the foot. Since she was diagnosed, The Queen has worn shoes with less height to try to alleviate the pain.
Last May, after breaking the toe on her right foot, Letizia went to the Teatro Real dressed in sports. ““This will heal in no time,” the sovereign joked with journalists in May. The fracture occurred when the Queen bumped her foot on a tableas reported in different media.
The balcony image
The Kings, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía posed this Wednesday, June 19, at the main balcony of the Royal Palacethe one located in the Throne Room, a scene never seen before, from where they witnessed the development of the solemn relief of the Royal Guard, the first of the events to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the proclamation.
If a decade ago the Royal Family looked out on the balcony overlooking the Plaza de Orientein front of the Royal Theater, on this occasion they have done it at the viewpoint that overlooks the Armory patio and the Almudena cathedral in front of the formed units of the Royal Guard, the three Armies and the Civil Guard.
The main balcony has been decorated with a white baldachin and a pastry rack with the coat of arms of Spain and on the side windowsthey have worn smaller ones with the emblems of the autonomous communities.
The kings of Spain with their daughters, Leonor and Sofía, on the balcony of the Royal Palace.
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Felipe, Letizia and their daughters have waved at the thousand of citizens who followed the event in a grandstand and on chairs installed in the Armory and who gave them a standing ovation when they appeared on the balcony. Unlike 10 years ago, when Leonor de Borbón was eight years old and her sister was seven, the kings have been missing from the image. Juan Carlos (86) and Sofia (85), absent from the events planned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his son’s reign.
By focusing on Felipe VI, the King’s House has not considered the presence of the emeritus justified, nor were they present at the swearing-in of the Constitution of the Princess of Asturias on October 31. Compared to other European royal houses, seeing the Royal Family on the balcony of the Royal Palace It is a very unusual image.
In addition to the day of the proclamation, Felipe and Letizia appeared together on the balcony overlooking the Plaza de Oriente a decade earlier, on their wedding day, May 22, 2004, when they received an ovation from the citizens accompanied by the kings Juan Carlos and Sofia and the parents of the then Princess, Jesus Ortiz (74) and Paloma Rocasolano (72).
