After several years without his own boat, the King has rented this year, for the days that the royal family is in Mallorca, a motorboat that they will use for private outings at sea. The boat, of Spanish and sustainable design, is a 15 meter long model, by Deantonio Yachts, and marketed through a nautical dealer in Malaga who has processed the temporary rental contract for the boat, for the cost of which the King has personally taken charge of.
For several months, by order of the King, staff at the Zarzuela have been looking for a boat so that the royal family could use it during their stay in Palma, and a possible acquisition and also a loan from an individual. The regime chosen has been that of temporary rental, which extends only to the days when the Kings and their daughters are on the island.
Given that the use of the motorboat will be exclusively private and for the exclusive use of the royal family, the cost of the rental has been assumed by King Felipe VI with the allocation he receives, and in no case will it affect other items of the budgets of the House of the King or in those of any other public body. La Zarzuela, as it is a private matter for the Kings, did not provide any information about the vessel or its use.
Despite the fact that yesterday there was speculation about the appearance of Letícia and her daughters in the regatta field where the third regatta of the Mapfre King’s Sailing Cup took place, the truth is that the rented boat was not seen following the test in which the King won on board the Aifos, as mother and daughters opted for a sea trip away from the limelight.
The ship’s journey to docking in Palma began in October with the King’s visit to the Barcelona Boat Show. At the suggestion of Luis Conde, president of the show, Felipe VI visited the stand of Deantonio Yachts, a company owned by Marc de Antonio, responsible for the design, production and marketing of the boats, which have the Made in Spain seal. After evaluating other options, a few months ago the King decided, due to the characteristics and the price, for one of the speedboats designed by De Antonio that are offered for sale or rent through various nautical dealers. One of them is Higueron, located in Málaga, which was, finally, the one that processed the operation.
The boat is the D50 model, with capacity for twelve people on deck and with two cabins where four sailors can sleep; came out in March. The price, religiously paid by the King through the corresponding invoice, amounts to 2,500 euros per day, with an approximate calculation, according to use and speed of the vessel, of around 300 euros of fuel per crossing.
The last speedboat used by the current kings was the Somni boat, owned by the shipowner Josep Cusí, who in 2005 ceded it for use by the royal family. From 2014, the first summer of King Felipe, the use of the boat was formalized with the signing of a loan of use until, in 2020, it returned to the hands of the owner, who later he put it up for sale.
For years, the image of the royal family in Mallorca was linked to the Fortuna, the name given to the impressive yachts that were mainly used by King Juan Carlos.
The first, which debuted in 1979, was a gift from King Fahd of Arabia and has been sailed by presidents such as Bill Clinton and royalty such as Charles and Diana, then Princes of Wales, and its silhouette marked the royal holidays and the regattas of Palma.
In 2000, the Fortuna yacht was replaced by another of the same name that a group of Mallorcan businessmen gave to Joan Carles; years later, in the name of austerity, the yacht was returned to the promoters.
