Queen Sofía of Spain has tested positive for COVID-19.
The news was inserted in the press release published on 23 May to detail the future for King Juan Carlos after the meeting he maintained with part of his family on his first trip to Spain in almost two years.
Queen Sofía herself had only just returned to Spain on Sunday after spending six days in Miami, Florida, where she undertook several engagements related to the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute.
The main event was the celebration of the fifth centenary of the first circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano, for which she attended a roundtable at Miami’s Pérez Art Museum titled, “The first globalisation: the trip that shaped the world” about the consequences that circumnavigation had on the global population.
She also attended a military ceremony at the Juan Sebastián de Elcano Military School, where she witnessed a solemn flag-raising and took part in the church service and subsequent swearing on the flag of the regiment.
Following that, she was present for a commemorative service for all members of the ship the lost their lives during combat and attended a meeting with authorities from the US Army.
Queen Sofía has a special relationship with the figure of Juan Sebastián Elcano and its namesake ship, which started when, back in 1973, she acted as godmother while the Spanish flag was handed to the ship. Since then, she has managed to step many times aboard, including in 2001, when she was even granted permission to sleep on board.
The school ship is also very important to both King Juan Carlos and King Felipe, as both of them received parts of their Navy training on board that specific vessel.
Queen Sofía is not the first member of the Spanish Royal Family to get COVID-19. King Felipe tested positive in February and had to isolate for 12 days, during which he continued carrying out some official duties remotely.
The US has been experiencing a steady increase of coronavirus cases for the past few weeks, raising alarms in many states, which are seeing lower vaccination rates in populations with substantial numbers of high-risk people.
