The coronavirus pandemic has left Queen Letizia of Spain as the only member of her royal family taking on engagements as December gets under way. The Spanish royal diary for this week is entirely down to her and could remain that way into the following week.
King Felipe is in isolation after he came into contact with someone who later tested positive for coronavirus. Although the Spanish monarch has been checked and doesn’t have the virus himself, he must quarantine until early December. Felipe and Letizia’s two daughters, Leonor and Sofia, are at school.
The only other member of the family who takes on engagements is Queen Sofia. However, her diary was already starting to wind down before the pandemic and as she turned 82 just weeks ago, she must be careful with contacts as she is in the age group most vulnerable to the virus. Her husband, King Juan Carlos, had already retired from public life before going into self imposed exile earlier this year as allegations over his finances reached crisis point.
Queen Letizia began her busy week with a trip to Valencia on November 30th where she held a meeting with members of the local police force and handed out some of Spain’s most prestigious research awards. The Jaume I Prizes recognise outstanding achievement in a variety of areas including new technologies and protection of the environment. Winners receive 100,000 euros to use towards research and a gold medal.
As she handed out the awards, at a ceremony at the medieval Lonja de los Mercaderes in Valencia, the Queen of Spain praised the recipients, telling them that they ‘’embody the decision and seriousness of Spanish society and its commitment to improve and overcome the difficulties in which we are because of the pandemic”. She went on ‘‘The talent, effort and generosity of our winners are proof that we are capable of projecting a modern, supportive and strong Spain.”
In the coming days, Queen Letizia has two more high profile engagements. On December 3rd, she will open an exhibition, ”Rafael in the Palace: Tapestries for Philip II’, which is being held at the Royal Palace in Madrid. It features the work of Rafael Sanzio de Urbino, marking the 500th anniversary of his death and it will be the first chance, since the 16th century, to see all the tapestries he made for the famous Spanish monarch together.
On December 4th, Letizia will oversee a meeting at the Spanish Royal Academy in Madrid of the organisation, FundéuRAE, which works towards ensuring the Spanish language is used well in communication and media.
King Felipe has carried out one virtual engagement since his self isolation began. However, no others are currently listed for him and the royal diary is currently entirely down to Spain’s queen.
