The royal calendar is accelerating when it comes to the activity of Queen Letizia and Queen Emerita Sofia, both in high demand in the coming days due to the unstoppable activity of the Crown. This confirms, thus, the growing involvement of the mother of King Felipe VI in representative duties and her intention to remain an important asset in the daily work that is assumed from Zarzuela. This week, moreover, again with international trips.
If last week, Queen Sofia surprised us by resuming her audiences at the Zarzuela Palace, this is Queen Letizia who receives different organizations related to the health sector, which particularly interests the Queen. On Tuesday, she will greet and exchange views with a representation of the members who form part of the Carlos I Chair of Public Policy, created recently, and a group of experts from the Legislative Observatory of Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of this Observatory.
Orphan drugs are intended to prevent, diagnose or treat rare diseases and other low-prevalence conditions. Considered to be of limited profitability, their development is limited. At the meeting, Queen Letizia will be presented with the work carried out in these five years to analyze and improve public policies related to rare diseases and access to this type of medicines.
Next, Queen Letizia will receive a representation of the Asociación de Enfermedades Raras Más Visibles and the team of the documentary «Life in a Drop», which makes visible the inequalities existing in neonatal screening in Spain and the importance of early diagnosis.
Queen Letizia and her concern for health
«Más Visibles» works on a legislative initiative to guarantee equal access to diagnostic tests from birth. They will present to the Queen the outreach work of «Life in a Drop» and of the NEXOS project, which bring the reality of people with rare diseases closer to society.
Finally, Queen Letizia will receive representatives of the Porque Viven Foundation, a nonprofit organization that for more than fifteen years has supported children and adolescents with serious and incurable diseases, as well as their families, in the field of pediatric palliative care. During the audience, they will present the Center for Integral Pediatric Palliative Care (CAPPI), a project nearing completion that will be the first of its kind in Spain. CAPPI will provide comprehensive care to minors and their families, in an environment specially designed to meet their needs
Queen Sofia, in a recent image.
On Wednesday, Queen Letizia will travel to Granada to preside over the Proclamation Ceremony of the Princess of Girona Arts Award 2026, an award that recognizes the career of young creators who, through their leadership, commitment and creativity, drive projects capable of generating a positive impact on society from the artistic and cultural field. The five finalist candidates are Xabier Anduaga Martínez, a tenor from Donostia; Gemma Blasco, a director and screenwriter from Barcelona; Valeria Castro Rodríguez, a singer and songwriter from the Canary Islands; César Dezfuli Rello, a documentary photographer and journalist from Madrid; and Juan Floristán, an internationally rising pianist from Seville.
Queen Sofia, on King Carl XVI Gustaf’s Birthday
Granada will not be the last destination of the Queen of the week, as on Thursday she will hold a meeting at the central headquarters of the Fundación Secretariado Gitano (FSG), where she will meet with a representative group of Romani women, on issues such as access to employment, education, promotion and social progress, discrimination, social participation, gender equality and the prevention of violence against women.
While Queen Letizia carries out this intense activity on national soil, Queen Sofia undertakes two important international engagements. On Wednesday she will attend the inauguration of the first major monographic exhibition in the United Kingdom devoted to Francisco de Zurbarán at the National Gallery in London, which brings together 50 paintings by the Extremaduran artist. She plans to take a tour of the exhibition before meeting with more than 500 attendees expected by the organizers.
On Thursday, Queen Sofia will attend in Stockholm the celebration of the 80th birthday of King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, a gala dinner at the Royal Palace where she will be able to greet representatives of most European royal houses. Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden is the European monarch with the most years on the throne, after more than 52 years of reign.
