The Kings open their pharmacy: the inheritance of their mysterious Menorcan benefactor

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The

have returned to Menorca.

The place where in 2009 they received unusual and disconcerting news:

and with whom they had no ties had made them heirs to his fortune, valued at around

and made up of a varied and unorthodox heritage that included apartments, entire buildings, buildings in a semi-ruined state, orchards, a 500-square-meter mansion,

, a piano, and a historic modernist-style pharmacy.

It was the last will of the illustrious

, a monarchist, cultured and solitary man who, after passing away on November 18, 2009 at the age of 69,

and the eight grandchildren of the current King emeritus , leaving written that if they did not want the inheritance, it would go to the State of Israel.

Half of his estate was for Felipe, Letizia and the eight grandchildren.

The other half was to be used

and that, preferably, redounded to the benefit of Menorcan society.

After analyzing the matter, the Royal House finally decided to accept the inheritance of that man, the only son of a wealthy Catalan businessman who made ice and one of the first female pharmacists on the island.

And so, he got down to work to manage

, a bobbin lace that is still in operation and which gave rise to the

, which brings together all that patrimony and the funds derived from its exploitation or its sale.

Also the expenses, which are not few.

The Foundation

, and is subject to continuous auditing.

The monarchs have wanted to make visible the work that has been done by the Foundation for some time now.

A visit scheduled in 2020 to the island taking advantage of the summer holidays in

, in Mallorca, triggered speculation.

But finally there was no coming-out then and it has not been possible until now when they have come to present one of the emblems of the foundation:

and its conversion into a center for the Menorcan foundation for people with disabilities .

The visit has served to shed light on the Foundation's charitable work and disseminate its work, which is

and minority sectors of local politics.

The Kings during the visitGTRES

It is an apothecary that belonged to Balada's mother, Catalina Llabrés.

Modernist in style, it is

and it is in the historic center of Ciutadella.

It preserves the old furniture and the original signs.

Its reform

and exclusively Menorcan companies have participated in it, fulfilling Balada's wish.

The Hesperia Foundation cedes it to the association for disabled people of Menorca for the next ten years.

It will not work as a pharmacy but as

, with free visits open to the public and an underground room that

to hold workshops and other inclusive activities.

The King and Queen have visited the famous pharmacy this Thursday,

, residents of the area and supporters of the Monarchy who have received them a few meters from the premises with Spanish flags and

to the King.

There, Queen Letizia has even agreed to take a selfie with a woman who was waiting for the monarchs.

The

, next door to the Llabrés pharmacy, have taken advantage of the moment to

typical cookies of the sweet Menorcan confectionery.

The pharmacy is not, however, the only jewel in Balada's heritage.

There is another property that is still closed.

It is the

where the benefactor of the monarchs resided, on Lleida de Ciutadella street.

It was for sale for 1.6 million euros, but no buyer was found.

The Kings during the visit to Mallorca, January 12, 2023GTRES

The property, as confirmed by sources from the Casa del Rey, is owned by the grandchildren of Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía, the eight children of Felipe and the Infantas.

As some of them are minors, in

(as it claimed a few months ago) they must wait until they are all 18 years old.

Something that

, when Sofia reaches that age.

Otherwise, they would need judicial authorization.

When the time comes, they

, something that is taken for granted within the House of the King as all these movements are supervised by the Foundation presided over by the Kings, as it happens with the rest of the operations derived from the peculiar inheritance Menorcan.

The Foundation has not only undertaken solidarity actions that are now gaining visibility with the pharmacy.

In 2022, to cite the last financial year, it allocated

by the eruption of the La Palma volcano and another 100,000 euros for the work of the Red Cross in welcoming Ukrainian refugees.

In previous years, they have already allocated

in Menorca or donations to finance cutting-edge research into rare diseases, paying for projects of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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• Queen Letizia

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