The heir to Spain’s throne, Princess Leonor, helped her sister, Infanta Sofia, to walk on their first appearance in Mallorca after the younger royal hurt her leg soon after arriving on the island.
Sofia, who is thirteen, had a large bandage around her knee as she arrived in Petra, Mallorca with Leonor and their parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, for a planned engagement. It’s understood she hurt herself while at the Marivent Palace and is using a crutch to walk.
Clearly finding it hard to move her leg well, Sofia was helped to walk along the narrow, cobbled streets of Petra by her older sister. Leonor, who is fourteen, held Sofia’s hand as they made their way to the birthplace of Franciscan monk, Fray Junipero Serra, who was born in the town in the 18th century.
A crowd of wellwishers had turned out to see the Spanish Royal Family who stopped to chat to some of them as they began their first planned visit of their time in Mallorca. The royals were given a tour of the birthplace before moving on to the museum which tells the story of the life of Junipero Serra and his travels in California, spreading Christianity. They also visited the church where he is believed to have preached his final sermon in Spain before leaving for America.
The pain that Sofia was in was clear when it came to sign the guest book at the museum. She chose to stand to add her signature to the page which contained a message written by her father. King Felipe stood with her as she signed.
King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia arrived in Mallorca on August 7th 2020 with the monarch driving his family to the Marivent Palace, their traditional residence on the island. The family joined Queen Sofia who had already begun her break there.
The Mallorca visit, a fixed point in the Spanish royal year, comes as King Juan Carlos begins his life in exile. The former monarch announced he was leaving Spain on August 3rd 2020 after ongoing speculation about his financial affairs and investigations into whether he hid money that had come to him from a rail contract in Swiss bank accounts.
