'Aunt Lilibet' - Royal Ties

 

After the sad and sudden death of Elizabeth II, it made me realise how little I know about the Spanish royal family and their connections with our royal family. 

Living here in Spain, I decided it was probably something I should learn a little more about and in researching found some interesting little facts I thought I would share. 

The current royal family consists of King Filipe, Queen Letizia and their 2 daughters. 

Filipe was proclaimed King on June 19th 2014, after the abdication of his father Juan Carlos. Juan Carlos handed power to his son after almost a 40 year reign. 

Due to corruption investigations (and other controversial events) Juan Carlos traveled to the UAE in 2020, where he has been living ever since despite denying any wrongdoings. It is believed he recently traveled back to Spain for the first time to spend some private time with his family. 

With the above in mind, I was intrigued to dig a little deeper and understand the relations between the Spanish royal family and that of our monarchy. 

The first thing I discovered, and was equally shocked and ashamed I didn't already know, was that King Filipe is the third cousin once removed of Elizabeth II and actually called her 'Aunt Lilibet'. 

Juan Carlos and Sofia, Filipe's parents, were both great great grandchildren of Queen Victoria - Who knew hey!

King Filipe and Queen Letizia will be attending Queen Elizabeth's funeral but more surprisingly, and to the embarrassment of the Spanish Government, so will his father and the former Queen Sofia. From my research it seems that they have both been invited, despite the open legal case Juan Carlos has in the UK.

Despite the blood relations Elizabeth II has with the Spanish royals, she has only ever visited mainland Spain once. In October 1988 she was a guest at the royal Palace El Pardo in Spain and this was the first ever visit by a British Monarch to the country. During that stay she also visited Barcelona and Seville. 

King Filipe and Queen Letizia made a state visit to London in 2017, where Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the distinction of knighthood of the Order of the Garter (the most important and oldest order of chivalry in the UK) and in 2019 they returned to the UK for the official ceremony at Windsor Castle. 

Before my brief bit of research, I never had any idea of the depth of the ties between the Spanish and the British royal families, and I am sure there is much more to uncover, but thought after what has been a very poignant week in royal history some of these little facts might be of interest to some. 

RIP your majesty and thank you!

Un Saludo

Chica de Mazarrón xx