Queen Sofia of Spain made a rare public appearance as she joined King Felipe at one of the most important events in the royal calendar.
Every year, for decades, Spain’s royals have welcomed people to a glittering reception at their summer home, Marivent, on the island of Mallorca. This year, for the first time, Princess Leonor, 19, and her 18 year old sister, Infanta Sofia, joined the royal party for this special evening.
Dignitaries and people from the arts and society mingle at a stunning event held in the Marivent palace which was given to the family as summer residence.
A favourite event for Queen Sofia
Queen Sofia has always loved the reception but there were question marks over whether she would attend this year as her public agenda has decreased significantly in recent months.
The queen, who was consort to King Juan Carlos throughout his reign from 1975 until 214, still takes on some duties but has had a much lower profile since the start of 2025.
Sofia will turn 87 in November and she’s also been looking after her sister, Princess Irene, who has had health issues for some time.
Although she’s been seen at a number of concerts and at events linked to supporting food banks, an issue she has campaigned on for a long time, Queen Sofia hasn’t taken on as many public engagements.
She joined King Felipe and Queen Letizia to greet the hundreds of guests invited to Marivent. The king along with his wife and mother greeted everyone in the palace’s famous gardens.
Her appearance at Marivent was welcomed – she remains the most popular member of the Spanish royal family by some way.
She has always won a huge amount of respect across society for her time as queen and has been praised for her work on issues like food banks as well as health conditions including dementia. Sofia has never been implicated in any of the scandals that engulfed her husband, King Juan Carlos, and has won public sympathy for her dignified behaviour when the Spanish royals were in difficulties.
Florals for Queen Sofia
Queen Letizia wore an all white sundress while Queen Sofia stuck to her favourite look for this event and chose big florals. This year, her outfit featured aquamarine trousers and a brightly patterned jacket of aqua and lilac flowers.
Her two granddaughters followed her lead. Princess Leonor was in a bright blue printed dress borrowed from Queen Letizia, with an off the shoulder design, while Infanta Sofia chose a bright pink flowered dress with high neck and fitted skirt.
Both wore Mallorcan espardrilles to complete their outfits.
There was some surprise, however, that the two daughters of King Felipe and Queen Letizia joined their family for the event. Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia have been taking on more public appearances but the 19 year old heir to the throne and her 18 year old sister but their appearance at the Marivent reception hadn’t been trailed in advance.
The Spanish royal family traditionally spend the last days of July and early part of August in Mallorca. In recent days, King Felipe has held meetings with politicians and gone sailing – he was accompanied on the waves by Leonor who has just finished a year of naval training.
Queen Letizia presented the awards at the film festival which takes place in Mallorca every summer. Days before that she was seen with her daughters heading to the cinema to see an acclaimed Spanish documentary.
The family are expected to take some private holidays after their stay in Mallorca before more big changes. Princess Leonor is set to start a year of training with Spain’s air force as she completes her military formation. Infanta Sofia will be going to university with her studies taking her to Berlin and Lisbon.
