It has not been an easy week for the kings Felipe and Letizia, but no sign of distress was visible as they approached the exact spot where each year they receive guests at the summer reception in Marivent. They walked calmly, as always, not far behind Queen Sofía: we have grown accustomed to seeing her arm in arm with her granddaughters, affirming her balance. The presence of Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía was, indeed, the night’s surprise, as it was not anticipated they would attend. Or, at least, it was not disclosed to the press.
The kings Felipe and Letizia, Queen Sofía, Princess Leonor, and Infanta Sofía reached, smiling, their position shortly before 9:00 p.m., though the heat continued to bite hard at the entrance to the magnificent gardens of the Marivent Palace. With humidity hovering around 70%, one only had to look at the guayaberas worn by many of the guests who mimic the King’s etiquette to notice the mark of the climate.
Let us say that the ordeal of the hand-kiss ceremony before dinner multiplies its merit under these conditions. While guests can move into the garden and take out their fans or even portable mini-fans, the royal family had to remain in their place, until greeting the last of the 621 people who attended the reception in Marivent. They did so in the presence of the authorities, alongside businessmen, lawyers, journalists, designers and artisans who represent civil society.
The royal family, in Marivent.
It was a night of restrained emotion for several reasons. Not least was the attendance of the singer Jaume Anglada, a personal friend of King Felipe, already recovered from the terrible motorcycle accident he suffered on August 8 of last year. The monarch went to see him in the hospital and followed his lengthy hospital ordeal closely. Anglada himself acknowledged shortly after his discharge that he suffered aftereffects.
“All I can do is thank both the doctors and the friends who have done so much for me so that today I can really begin to see the light and almost walk as I did before,” he said in statements to Diario de Mallorca. “It isn’t so easy to recover from a blow like the one I suffered,” he admitted. It was more than five months of hospitalization, with many days in intensive care due to the severity of the polytrauma.
la reina Letizia, durante la recepción en Marivent.
Jaume Anglada attended Marivent accompanied by his wife, the pharmacist Pilar Aguiló, very close to Queen Letizia. In fact, in the summer of 2024 she visited his establishment together with Queen Sofía and her daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía. Other familiar faces of the Queen included film producer Jaume Ripoll, promoter of the Atlàntida Festival, or designer Sybilla, who designed her dress.
There were other reasons for restrained emotion, above all the Ceuta events and the news of the death of 17 people who were trying to reach Mallorca by patera. Various media outlets wondered whether the migrant drama and the situation in the autonomous city should or should not impact the normal development of the kings Felipe and Letizia’s agenda. The monarch made a public statement of indignation at what happened, and it was decided to proceed with the scheduled activity, perhaps to avoid underscoring the gravity of the moment.
La infanta Sofía, en la recepción a la sociedad civil de Baleares.
Thus, Queen Letizia fulfilled her annual appearance at the closing of the Atlàntida Festival, where she hands the Masters in Cinema Award each year. King Felipe VI did the same: he took part in the inaugural regatta of the 44th Copa del Rey Mapfre, which this year will attempt to win for the first time at the helm of the new vessel replacing the old Aifos: Hispania. The boat, by the way, belongs to the Navy.
After the hand-kiss ceremony, the dinner began: a cocktail menu designed by Marga Coll, Maca de Castro and Santi Taura. Their proposal was based on local produce and traditional cuisine reinterpreted into 18 dishes, including traditional Mallorcan tumbet, camaiot mousse, serviola with peppers, eggplants in escabeche with Mahón cured cheese, tomato with Formentera dried ray, Mallorcan veal with capers and trampó with smoked sardines and marine fennel. Before midnight, dishes and guests had disappeared from the Marivent gardens. The royal family was the first to leave.
