Marivent Palace was once again dressed up for its traditional summer reception. This event brings together the most prominent figures of Balearic society every year under the watchful eye of the press. However, this year's edition was highlighted on the calendar for a very special reason: the debut of Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.
Their presence promised an image of unity and future for the Crown, but the reality, captured by the most indiscreet cameras, revealed a very different narrative that has been widely discussed on social media.
Expectations were at their highest. Nearly six hundred guests were waiting for the moment when the entire royal family would make their appearance. The moment arrived. After nine o'clock at night, the King and Queen, accompanied for the first time by their two daughters at this event, greeted the attendees one by one.
The Princess of Asturias and her sister became, as expected, the center of everyone's attention. But as the evening went on, a much more subtle detail began to steal the spotlight from them: the gulf that seemed to separate Felipe and Letizia.
A historic debut overshadowed by distance
What should have been a night of family celebration – although Letizia Ortiz has always considered it a farce – turned into a theater of cold and calculated gestures. Groups of journalists and analyses on social media quickly pointed out the obvious: the absolute lack of complicity between the monarchs.
Far from the image of a united marriage, Felipe VI and Queen Letizia kept a physical distance that went far beyond mere protocol. They barely exchanged glances, and their interactions were limited to what was strictly necessary, to forced smiles for the cameras and brief exchanges of words to stick to the script.
Any excuse seemed valid to avoid contact. While one was talking with a group of guests, the other would head to the opposite end of the hall. This palpable tension did not go unnoticed by anyone and quickly became the main topic of the night, overshadowing the important step forward represented by the presence of their daughters.
Social media were flooded with frames analyzing every gesture, every distance, confirming a feeling that has lingered in the air for some time: that of a marriage that works for the public, but in private lives separate realities.
The echo of a crisis that doesn't stop
This attitude only fuels the theories that journalists specialized in the royal household, such as Pilar Eyre or Jaime Peñafiel, have been supporting for years. The idea that Felipe and Letizia's marriage is, in practice, a professional agreement. "They're a work team, nothing more", say sources close to the palace, describing a relationship based on duty to the Crown and the well-being of their daughters, but devoid of marital affection.
The rumors that have shaken the foundations of Zarzuela in recent times have created a context in which every gesture is examined under a magnifying glass. The coldness at Marivent is not an isolated event, but the visual confirmation of what many had already taken for granted.
Recently, from XCatalunya we reported that they lead separate lives. Even the expert Laura Rodríguez confirms the existence of lovers on both sides. There would be a pact of silence that is only broken at official events like this one, where the obligation to appear normal becomes increasingly difficult to keep.