• Profile..Aunt Irene, the most discreet princess

Since the state of alarm was declared for the coronavirus, Don Juan Carlos, Doña Sofía and their sister Princess Irene have been confined to their private rooms in Zarzuela , with little contact with each other and in a palace more desolate than ever. Far from the usual hustle and bustle of visitors and audiences, there is hardly any movement, even the royal guards who watch him give their masks a somber touch.

Of the family, the only ones who come to work at his office, on the first floor, are the Kings, who are committed to supporting the affected sectors by videoconference. Which is no consolation for the emeritus, because Doña Letizia has not seen the hair and the relationship with her son goes through a very tense stage.

This week it has been published that Arturo Fasana, alleged manager of Don Juan Carlos, declared that in 2010 he had entered a Swiss account in the name of the monarch for 1.9 million dollars received from the king of Bahrain. This is in addition to the scandal that broke out in March when the alleged commission of 100 million transferred by the Saudi monarchy to the Lucum foundation came to light, which also included Don Felipe without knowing it, which led him to publicly repudiate his father, renouncing his inheritance and withdrawing his allowance of 194,232 euros.

A new blow at the worst moment, because for his 81 years and his many ailments, the last his delicate intervention of heart in August, the emeritus is in the group of highest risk. That is why he has been cloistered for more than two months without leaving the palace or receiving anyone, not even his sister, the Infanta Margarita, who approached Zarzuela days before confinement with his grandson Carlitos, Don Juan Carlos's godson.

"You have to resist in the den like a belly-up cat," he confessed to Raúl del Pozo recently. The days are eternal, he can not even enjoy culinary delights, since after the heart operation the doctors put him on a diet, and the contacts he maintains are porwhatsapp and video call with his intimates, especially Pedro Campos and Manuel Piñera.

He also speaks daily with his daughter Elena, his great support, who is alone at his home in the Niño Jesús neighborhood, since his sons Froilán and Victoria Federica have preferred to seclude themselves in the countryside with friends. The eldest son is at the Alcuzcuz hacienda, in Benahavís, and Vic at the El Aserradero farmhouse, in Jaén.

One of the things that most affect the emeritus is that he does not stop receiving bad news from friends who died of the virus, such as the Marques de Griñón or Alfonso Cortina. Doña Sofía's circumstances are better, since her sister Irene accompanies her in the running of the bulls. The emerita, very active, finds it uphill to have parked her official activity: in 2020 she had already starred in eight acts, the last one the besapiés al Cristo de Medinaceli, while in 2019, when her husband left the official life, she had only two commitments. Now he continues telematically at the head of his NGO, the Reina Sofía Foundation, which, in line with his ecological concern, has just joined the Libera movement, which brings awareness to the recycling of gloves and masks.

Video calls

Another of her distractions is contacting the family by video calls, to which Doña Sofía has been addicted since the infant Cristina settled in Washington. Doña Sofia and Irene have great concern for their brother Constantino, very delicate in health and now confined to his residence in Porto Heli. For both it has been a great disappointment that due to the pandemic, the wedding of her niece, Teodora, with the Californian lawyer Mattew Kumar scheduled for May in Spetses has been suspended. The cancellation of Constantine's 80th birthday on June 2 is also certain.

Irene's company is being a balm for Doña Sofía, since both share hobbies, such as music, archeology and museums, from all of which the audiovisual offer on the Internet has increased. They are also passionate about occultism and religions, especially Buddhism. Irene is such a special woman that her nephews nickname her Aunt Pecu as peculiar, since she is single, does not drink or smoke, does not make up or dye her hair and dresses in long camisoles. A custom he acquired in the Indian city of Madras, where Queen Frederick resided with her mother to follow the teachings of the guru Mahadevan. It was after the coup of the colonels that overthrew the monarchy in Greece and turned Irene stateless, who after her mother died in 1981, settled in Zarzuela achieving in 2018 Spanish nationality.

Dumped into his NGO Mundo en Armonia to which he donated the 900,000 euros with which the Greek government compensated him in 2002 for the confiscation of his property, this Sunday, May 10, he turns 78. An appointed date that, given the confinement, will have to celebrate hand in hand with Doña Sofía.

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