King Felipe and Queen Letizia find out there’s no such thing as a private date night for royals

It was supposed to be a regular date night for them and yet King Felipe and Queen Letizia soon found themselves the centre of photography flashes and cheers from the crowd that had gathered at the restaurant’s entrance. 

On Thursday, 22nd August, the Royal couple took advantage of the empty nest and went out for dinner in a restaurant on Plaza de Oriente, very close to the capital’s Royal Palace, called La Lonja del Mar. 

The restaurant specialises in seafood, and offers three different spaces inside: a more formal one, named La Lonja Restaurante, a more informal one, called La Taberna de la Lonja, and La Barra de la Lonja, which resembles more a French bistro. 

It wasn’t revealed which of the three areas was selected by King Felipe and Queen Letizia, but the establishment is located also very close to the Royal Theatre, and is known to be a favourite spot for all people who go to the Opera to grab a bite before or after the show. 

The building is also charged with history, as it used to be the Madrid residence of Giuseppe Verdi, the famous Italian Opera composer. 

The Spanish royal family is now split up again for the school year, as Infanta Sofía has already left for Wales, where she is attending her last year at UWC Atlantic. It has not yet been made public, but rumours circulated a few months back that she will undertake one year of military training, before enrolling in university. 

Princess Leonor, for her part, has been spotted in the Málaga area with some friends, although no pictures have been taken of the group. On the 29th of August, she is expected to report for duty in Marín, where she will begin her Navy training. This will be the toughest year for her: not only is Marín the Military academy furthest away from Madrid, but she will also embark for a number of weeks (unspecified as of yet) on the training ship Juan Sebastian de Elcano. 

For their part, King Felipe and Queen Letizia have just come back from Greece, where they were seen eating at a restaurant with Queen Sofía and her sister Princess Irene, as well as some family friends. It was rumoured that the couple travelled to Greece at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima. The Dutch royals own a property in the country, and it is said that they hosted their Spanish counterparts as a thank you for the care they showed their eldest daughter, Princess Catharina-Amalia. 

She had to secretly flee the Netherlands after being specifically targeted by threats to her safety and it was later revealed that she took refuge in Madrid, where she became a guest of the Spanish Royals.