Summer has always been synonymous with Marivent for the Spanish royal family. A Balearic refuge that has served as the setting for historic photo calls, regattas, and political summits. However, times change and new generations demand their own space, even when they carry the future of the Crown on their shoulders.
Queen Letizia, the architect of a meticulous strategy to protect her daughters' image, now faces a challenge that wasn't part of her plans: Leonor and Sofía's desire for independence.
The monarch has worked tirelessly to shape her daughters as she wanted. Her control has been very strict. There are countless anecdotes, like the time she forbade Queen Sofía from giving candy to the girls when they were little. Or when she changed the menu at Los Rosales school to adapt it to what she considered appropriate. This gesture led to complaints—unsuccessful ones—from other parents.
Vacations that break with tradition
After a year of enormous demands, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía have finally closed their schedules. Leonor completed her tough training in the Navy on July 15, receiving the Grand Cross of Naval Merit with honor. Soon after, she presided over the Princess of Girona Awards and, together with her sister, cheered in Basel for the Spanish team at the Women's Euro Cup.
In a move that reveals a need for a life of their own, the sisters have decided to take a few days for themselves. Before heading to the Balearic island, they organized a private getaway with their friends, far from the media spotlight and Marivent protocol. A few days of normalcy that any young person their age longs for, but in their case, it represents a significant break with the Crown's summer tradition.
Letizia's strategy in the face of a new family reality
This decision by her daughters puts to the test the control Letizia has kept over each of their steps. Accustomed to supervising their education, their image, and their public appearances, she now faces two young adults who demand their autonomy.
Moreover, once they arrived on the island, both sisters went out partying in Magaluf. This was something Letizia Ortiz didn't like. The consequence: she made them do a series of more boring plans.
Marivent, a palace losing its generational charm
Marivent Palace, Queen Sofía's great refuge, seems to be losing its appeal for the new generations. For Leonor and Sofía, Mallorca is more of an institutional obligation than a paradise for relaxation. Moreover, their cousins can't go at the same time either. Express prohibition by the Queen after the Noos case.
The question that remains in the air is inevitable: are we witnessing the end of royal summers as we knew them?