This Friday, Infanta Cristina entered the Royal Palace again although she did not go beyond the hallway. This Good Friday, the King’s little sister accompanied Queen Sofia at the start of the Christ of the Halberdiers procession and, later, in the company of Princess Irene, they followed the first section of the route. It is the first time, in years, that Infanta Cristina appears in public, in an event that, although considered private, has been developed with a protocol and format typical of an official religious ceremony.
Cristina de Borbón, who since the proclamation of Felipe VI has not been part of the royal family although, obviously, remains the King’s family, has been removed from institutional representation since 2011, during the reign of Juan Carlos I, following the outbreak of the Nóos Case. In 2015, King Felipe VI withdrew the title of Duchess of Palma that her father had granted her in 1997, on the occasion of her wedding to Iñaki Urdangarin, from whom she is currently divorced.
In recent years, all of Infanta Cristina’s appearances with the current or previous Kings have been limited to the strictly family sphere. A few months ago she attended Infanta Elena’s birthday, at the meal that the Kings also attended and, just a few weeks ago, she was also at the funeral mass for King Constantine of Greece that was celebrated in the Windsor chapel. .
This Good Friday, however, his presence with Queen Sofia took place at the Royal Palace, a place he had not set foot in since 2013, with King Juan Carlos still in office, he attended a mass for the centenary of the birth. of his grandfather, Don Juan de Borbón.
The presence of Queen Sofía, along with her daughter Cristina and her sister Irene, is part of her private activities not included in the institutional agenda of the royal family, but is significant given its public significance (the ceremony was broadcast live on TeleMadrid) which has provided an unpublished image of Cristina de Borbón.
Queen Sofia seems to have been commissioned to represent the royal family in Holy Week events. Far from spending these days in Mallorca, as she has done in recent years, the King’s mother, who was in Palma last Monday to attend the traditional concert in the cathedral to benefit the Projecte Home that cares for drug addicts, traveled on Wednesday to Malaga to attend on Holy Thursday the transfer of the Christ of the Good Death, into the arms of the Legion, and this Friday he reappeared in Madrid to preside over the departure of the Christ of the Alabarderos (a body belonging to the Royal Guard), from the hallway of the Royal Palace.
Before the departure of the procession, Queen Sofía received the medal from the Brotherhood of Cristo de los Albarderos, which was also received, in a smaller version, by Infanta Cristina and Princess Irene. Subsequently, the King’s mother proceeded with a silver hammer to ring the bell that marks the beginning of the procession and did so asking “for Spain.” Next, Queen Sofía, Infanta Cristina and Princess Irene joined the processional procession to travel the first section after the pass.
On Holy Thursday, after attending the transfer ceremony of the Christ of the Good Death, Queen Sofía extended her stay in Malaga and at noon she went with her sister, Irene of Grecia, to have lunch at the Rocamar beach bar, located in the neighborhood of Huelin, on the beach,
The King’s mother, according to information from the Efe agency, was received with applause upon arrival, she chatted animatedly with those in charge of the establishment, which is the second time she has visited, and congratulated the ‘espetero’, the person in charge of making the sardines. grilled. Queen Sofia and her sister ate fried fish, baked sole and sardines, the most typical dish in Malaga, and the King’s mother said they were the best she had ever tasted.
