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European RoyalsSpain

Infanta Pilar of Spain hospitalised again

Infanta Pilar, the older sister of King Juan Carlos of Spain, has been hospitalised again in Madrid following health problems.

The Spanish princess was admitted to the Ruber International Hospital on Monday according to several Spanish news outlets.

Her health hasn’t been the best over the past year. In February 2019, she was hospitalised for intestinal issues; and in May, announced that she’d been diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent surgery. In September, she was hospitalised again, though the cause wasn’t related to her cancer.

It was reported in the Spanish press that she received frequent visits from Queen Sofía and her sister, Infanta Margarita during her hospitalisation.

She released a statement last May confirming her cancer diagnosis, saying that “I know that I have cancer, that I had surgery for colon cancer, that is.”

Born in 1936, Infanta Pilar was raised in exile and had to renounce her titles to marry Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, Viscount de la Torre, Grandee of Spain in 1967, though her title was restored by King Juan Carlos in 1987, along with the style of Royal Highness.

She has five children, Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y Borbón; Juan Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, Viscount of La Torre; Bruno Gómez-Acebo y Borbón; Luis Gómez-Acebo y Borbón; and Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón; and 11 grandchildren. She was widowed in 1991 and never remarried.

Infanta Pilar conducted rare engagements on behalf of the King, but was heavily involved in equestrian sport and served as the President of the International Equestrian Federation for 12 years, stepping down in 2006.

She was also a member of the International Olympic Committee for Spain and served as an honorary member and as a Member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Olympic Committee for ten years, until 2006.

The Ruber International Hospital has not made any statements about Infanta Pilar’s hospitalisation, nor has the Spanish Royal Family.

About author

Jess Ilse is the Assistant Editor at Royal Central. She specialises in the British, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish Royal Families and has been following royalty since Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee. Jess has provided commentary for media outlets in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Jess works in communications and her debut novel THE MAJESTIC SISTERS will publish in Fall 2024.