King Felipe of Spain starts holiday on sunny Mallorca

Spain’s royal family always start their summer break with a
stint on Mallorca and King Felipe has arrived and got the holidays
started the traditional way.

As his daughters commiserated with the Spanish women’s football
team over their loss in the Euros 2025 final to England, Felipe VI
was throwing open the doors of his palace on Mallorca to welcome
local politicians for a series of meetings.

It might not scream vacay, but these audiences are always held
by the King of Spain as he begins his summer residence on the
island.

King Felipe is on a working
holiday

First in to see the Spanish king was Margalida Prohens Rigo, who
is President of the Balearic Islands. She is head of the government
of the islands, one of 17 autonomous regions within Spain.

They met at the beautiful Palace of the Almudaina in Palma de
Mallorca where King Felipe will hold many of his political
meetings.

The Spanish royal family also has a residence on the island, the
Palace of Marivent where Felipe’s parents, King Juan Carlos and
Queen Sofia, famously hosted their Windsor counterparts for several
summer holidays with Prince William and Prince Harry playing there
with their parents, Charles and Diana.

The Spanish king will have a series of political meetings during
his stay on Mallorca.

The set piece of the stay is an evening reception for
dignitaries, community leaders and other notable figures from
across the islands who will be welcomed to the royal hoe by King
Felipe who is expected to be joined by his wife, Queen Letizia.

Felipe VI’s mother, Queen Sofia, has always enjoyed her stay on
Mallorca and often arrives ahead of her family for the visit.
However, she has taken a much quieter role in royal events over the
past few months and it’s not known whether the queen, who will be
87 in November, will be part of the glittering reception.

There is every expectation now that the two daughters of King
Felipe and Queen Letizia will be on hand to host the event.
Princess Leonor, 19, and
Infanta Sofia, 18, are both now taking on more public
engagements and the summer reception on Mallorca now seems a shoe
in for the young royals.

Busy summer for Princess Leonor and
Infanta Sofia

Leonor is back home for several months after completing a year
of naval training. Late summer will see her start a year with
Spain’s air force to complete her military formation – she trained
with the army between 2023 and 2024.

Sofia, 18, is also enjoying a few weeks with her family before
beginning her university education. The infanta, second in line to
the Spanish throne, will begin a three year course in Politics and
International Relations at the Forward College this autumn. Her
studies will take place in Paris, Berlin and Lisbon.

The Princess of Asturias and her sister flew to Switzerland to
watch the final of the Euros 2025 while their father was settling
into his Mallorcan holiday. Leonor and Sofia watched Spain’s La
Roja take on the Lionesses in a tense match to be crowed European
champions. The game ended in penalties, which England took 3-1.

Princess Leonor
headed into the changing rooms after the defeat to offer a few
words of consolation to the Spanish players with Sofia at her side.
The Infanta is a passionate football supporter and follows the game
avidly. She was in Australia two years ago to see Spain defeat
England in the Women’s World Cup final.

Ahead of the match, Leonor and Sofia met up with Prince William
and Princess Charlotte who had gone to Basel to support the
Lionesses. The four royals watched the match together with the
Prince of Wales and his daughter heading on to the pitch for the
trophy presentation and celebrations that followed.

The Spanish royals are expected to fly from Switzerland to
Mallorca for the holiday stay. As well as the formal events, King
Felipe and Queen Letizia are often seen eating out at restaurants
around Mallorca while the family have in the past visited a local
tourist attraction to help promote visits to the island.