The traditional summer reception at Marivent Palace has always been a barometer of relationships within the Royal Family. However, the event held this past August 4, 2025, marked a turning point.
All eyes were on Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, who were making their debut at this social event before more than six hundred guests. But, amid the flashes and polite conversations, a silent drama was unfolding around Queen Emerita Sofía, whose presence became the epicenter of a new family crisis.
What happened: a forced appearance and deep discomfort
Against all odds, Queen Sofía attended the event. Sources close to her circle say that until the day before, her attendance was uncertain. The emerita is going through an extremely delicate personal moment.
Her visible physical frailty is compounded by constant anguish over her sister's advanced health condition, Irene of Greece, who suffers from Alzheimer's. This situation keeps her in a state of physical and mental exhaustion that, according to her daughters, made her participation in such a major event completely inadvisable.
However, her strong sense of duty, instilled over decades, prevailed once again. Doña Sofía gave in, as she has so many other times, out of loyalty to the Crown and her son, King Felipe VI. But the price of that sacrifice was, for many, a public humiliation that did not go unnoticed.
Journalist Pilar Eyre, a sharp observer of the Royal Household, described the scene with painful precision, noting that the emerita's smile "was not with her eyes, only with her mouth" and that the way her granddaughters held her arm showed a lack of familiarity, more a gesture of assisting a stranger than of family affection.
The most revealing moment came after the hand-kissing ceremony. While the usual groups formed, cameras caught Queen Sofía isolated, trying to join conversations in which, visibly, she was not included. They ignored her. Her closest family, the core formed by Felipe, Letizia, and their daughters, seemed to operate in a different orbit, leaving the matriarch in a solitude that was painful to witness.
Elena and Cristina speak out
The reaction of Infantas Elena and Cristina was swift. Although removed from the institutional spotlight, both keep an extremely close bond with their mother and, according to reports, their indignation is enormous. They believe Doña Sofía was forced to stage a fictitious family unity, exposing her to a cold and distant treatment that publicly undermines her.
The reproach, according to various sources, is directed squarely at their brother, the King. They blame him for not protecting their mother and for allowing her image to be used for the benefit of the institution, even at the expense of her well-being and dignity. For the infantas, seeing their mother sidelined and snubbed by Queen Letizia and her own granddaughters was the last straw in a longstanding discomfort.
Meanwhile, Felipe VI seems anchored in the reason of State. For him, his mother's presence was necessary to project an image of cohesion. Nevertheless, this episode has once again highlighted the gulf that separates him from his sisters and the complex family dynamic he manages. It is no secret that the relationship with his sisters has not worked for some time.
Especially with Cristina. They had always gotten along, but the outbreak of the Nóos case led Letizia to order a total break in relations. Even with Cristina. The rift in the family was significant, and it is clear that the relationship has not been restored. Letizia, despite being a consort, is in charge in many respects.