Spain’s King Felipe made this major change to royal protocol for an important reason

King Felipe of Spain has brought in a big change to a long established rule for royal events and he had a pressing reason to do it.

One of the biggest events in the Spanish royal calendar is the annual evening for dignitaries in Mallorca, held in the gardens of the Marivent palace. It’s a formal event and men are usually asked to wear a suit with tie for the evening. However, in 2024, temperatures were so high that several felt unwell during the celebrations because of the heat. And so King Felipe brought in a new dress code.

King Felipe relaxes royal rules

It was noticeable from the first moment of the 2025 reception. The King of Spain led his family out to meet guests wearing a long summer shirt with dark trousers and not a tie or jacket in sight.

Many of his male guests followed his lead. The new dress code states that for such events, men can wear a shirt without jacket as long as it has a collar.

They can also wear a guayabera, a form of light, long sleeved shirt that has two columns of closely sewn pleats running vertically down the front and back of the piece. The guayabera is originally from Cuba and became popular as well in Mexico, underlining Spain’s ongoing links with South America.

The new dress protocol also states that dark, formal trousers must be worn with the shirt or guayabera. It’s hoped that the more relaxed, cooler dress code will ensure everyone is as comfortable as possible in high temperatures.

King Felipe chose a guayabera for the Marivent reception, wearing a white version with dark trousers. It was a noticeable departure from the former tie and jacket combo that dominated this evening event.

There’s no change to the protocol for women who were already asked to wear a cocktail style outfit. Military in attendance must still wear their summer uniform.

Many of the male guests chose to follow King Felipe’s lead and went for a guayabera.

The King of Spain is noted for his style and his latest look got a good reception.

Princess Leonor makes tribute to Queen Letizia

Queen Letizia also kept things on trend, choosing a maxi white summer dress with vest style top by Tony Bonet.

Two years ago, she wore a bright blue print dress by Desigual and it made another appearance in 2025 as her daughters joined her at the event for the first time. Princess Leonor borrowed her mum’s outfit for the evening, an important moment in her royal career as she will be in line to host the event herself in years to come when she becomes queen.

Her younger sister, Infanta Sofia, also made her debut at the reception. The 18 year old, known for her love of sport, went for Spanish high street for her outfit, wearing a pink Zara summer dress with a bold print. Both Sofia and Leonor wore traditional Mallorcan espadrilles for the reception.

https://royalcentral.co.uk/europe/spain/queen-sofia-spain-212795/Queen Sofia, 86, made a rare appearance as she joined her family at the reception which has long been one of her favourite events of the year. She has scaled back her engagements in recent months. However, she stayed true to her Marivent style, wearing aqua trousers with a bright aqua and lilac print shirt.

The Spanish royals looks to thoroughly enjoy themselves at the reception which is always held as they spend several days on Mallorca at the start of their summer holidays. A private break will follow before autumn brings new challenges. Princess Leonor will begin a year’s training with the Spanish air force while Infanta Sofia stars university where her studies will take her to Berlin and Lisbon.