Nothing is, perhaps, quite so revealing as a royal Christmas card, which functions as a window into the lives of its senders, the year they have experienced and the message – both literally and metaphorically – that they want to convey. For King Felipe and Queen Letizia, that message for 2024 is one of harmony and unity, as expressed by a sweet, family photograph and a touching tribute.
For the first time, the Spanish royal family has chosen to share a previously unseen portrait on their Christmas card, which shows the King and Queen together with their daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia. Wearing an aqua dress in shimmering satin, Letizia beams as she hugs her eldest daughter, who is dressed in suitably festive, red tailoring. Felipe, meanwhile, looks proudly into the camera, standing behind Sofia, who is every inch the modern royal in her vibrantly patterned jumpsuit.
The Spanish royal family’s card included a poignant message: the wish that everyone can ‘face the New Year with greater confidence’ SPANISH ROYAL HOUSEHOLD/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The image was captured after the royals presided over the Solemn Changing of the Royal Guard in June – a fitting occasion on which to take this historic snap, as it marked the beginning of commemorative events for the tenth anniversary of King Felipe’s accession. Inside the card is an extract from a poem by Francisco Brines, as a touching tribute to those affected by the deadly flash flooding in Valencia in October, which affected more than 800,000 citizens and killed 230. The extract translates in English to: ‘And I seek a face that reflects light, someone who, like me, though only holding death, also holds, as I once did, defying it, life.’
King Felipe and Queen Letizia – pictured during a visit to the areas affected by the flooding near Valencia in November – included a tribute to the victims of the disaster in their Christmas card
Also printed inside the card, signed by the whole family, is a poignant message that translates as: ‘Merry Christmas, and may we all face the New Year with greater confidence.’ It’s an eye-opening and perhaps significant statement from the King and Queen, who have withstood a year of unpleasant rumours that have dogged both their reign and their marriage.
In December 2023, a tell-all book by Spanish journalist Jaime Peñafiel claimed that Letizia had been engaged in a secret affair with Jaime del Burgo, the son of a politician and a longtime friend of the Queen, who went on to marry her sister. Del Burgo and Letizia met in 2000, when the former Miss Oritz was still a newsreader. He alleged that the pair were in a relationship both before – and after – Letizia was married in 2004, and even claimed that he was on the cusp of proposing to her when she told him about her fledgling relationship with Spain’s future king.
Just months later, in May 2024, Peñafiel wrote a damning book, Letizia’s Silences – in which he accused Felipe of knowing about his wife’s actions all along. The writer maintains that Felipe was ‘aware that Letizia was cheating on him in real time’, as the queen’s bodyguards have an obligation to report on her whereabouts. The author also alleges that Letizia was joined by del Burgo on a trip she took to New York in 2011, on which she was ‘accompanied by her faithful escorts, who, without a doubt, any… would pass a report to the Ministry of the Interior’.
Peñafiel later gave an interview to El Cierre Digital, in which he said: ‘I don’t think they [Felipe and Letizia] even live under the same roof… Felipe is a good person, as I have said already. He’s putting on a brave front and Letizia has done him a lot of harm.’ Many supporters of the Spanish court have brushed off Peñafiel’s claims as mere gossip-mongering. El Nacional Cat published a damning review of Letizia’s Silences upon its release, in which it described the author as ‘one of Letizia’s biggest enemies’ who is ‘determined to end [her] career’.
The Spanish royal family have followed the tried and tested maxim of ‘never complain, never explain’ in the face of these accusations and, as such, we may never know the truth behind the rumours – what is clear, however, is that King Felipe and Queen Letizia are standing strong.
