The King will no longer have problems if he travels to the Caribbean; In 2023 he received three guayaberas as a gift, one that was given to him on his trip to Puerto Rico and two more when he attended the Ibero-American Summit in Santo Domingo. The Queen will also have no shortage of handcrafted bags, the most repeated gift on the list of institutional gifts that this Wednesday, for the sake of the commitment to transparency, the Zarzuela has made public. All gifts are registered and become the property of National Heritage and none exceed in price what is considered a courtesy gift.
The members of the royal family, except King Juan Carlos who has no official functions, received a total of 301 gifts, among which stands out the sculpture of an angel, a gift from the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and a Ukrainian flag given to Felipe VI for combatants from this country wounded and admitted to the General Defense Hospital of Zaragoza.
Of the total of 301 gifts, the King was the recipient of 150; The Queen received 72 gifts; Princess Leonor, fourteen; Infanta Sofía two, and Queen Sofía, eight, to which we must add around fifty destined for the kings as a couple, their daughters or the four of them.
On the occasion of her 18th birthday, Princess Leonor received several institutional gifts, including an image of the Virgin and Child, a gift from the Archbishopric of Barcelona, ??and a Santina medal given to her by the Principality of Asturias. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, presented him with two books: “”The Spanish Constitution of 1978” and ‘Consolidated Treaties. Charter of Fundamental Rights’.
From his trips to Latin America, the King returned with three guayaberas, a box of cigars, a Colombian hat and pieces of crafts. In Spain, the Cádiz and Jaén football teams gave him t-shirts, as well as the Spanish national team, to which he added a model of the Bernabeu stadium, and the honorary membership card of the Barcelona Polo Club and also another of the Círculo Ecuestre . In Pamplona they gave him a San Fermín handkerchief and in Albacete, one of his famous knives.
Other gifts to Don Felipe were a bicycle, which he received during his visit to Porcelanosa, and a comic book about Mortadelo and Filemón, from the mayor of Barcelona, ??Jaume Collboni; as well as a stuffed animal, a gift from chef José, and a chef’s jacket, a gift from chef Koldo Royo. The list also includes countless commemorative plaques, cases, sculptures, paintings, trays, coins, photos, medals or prints and the model of an F-18 fighter plane.
To Queen Letizia, Zelensky gave a tablecloth, as well as a traditional Ukrainian blouse, to which were added several handmade bags gifted by Latin American leaders and Spanish institutions, as well as clothing, pendants, bracelets and some espadrilles. A tea set, on his trip from Etsado to Angola and a coat, a gift from the kings of Jordan who gave the same garment to the King, the Princess and the infanta.
Infanta Sofía took as a gift a ball signed by the Real Madrid and Osasuna teams, finalists in the last edition of the Copa del Rey. Among the gifts that Queen Sofia received was a portrait of Princess Leonor, the work of the winner of a painting competition.
In addition to the gifts, the King’s House has also made public the list of service contracts that it has signed during the year 2023, which includes the catering service for the meal that was held at the Royal Palace on the occasion of the 18th Princess Leonor’s birthday, attended by 150 people, which amounted to 25,300 euros, while the cocktail served at the Royal Palace on October 12 for two thousand people cost 68,850 euros.
Various contracts are also specified for the supply of press in printed or digital format for a total value of around 100,000 euros, as well as the acquisition and updating of software services for a total of 688,130.39 euros.
