from Spain Old Queen Sofia is still one of the most popular personalities in Spain. But her compatriots are unlikely to envy her. The woman, who turns 85 next Thursday (November 2), still appears serene, but also sad, in her increasingly rare public appearances. “Queen Sofia’s melancholic summer”, was the headline in the newspaper El Mundo in August.
This is certainly also due to the loss of his brother, the last Greek King Constantine II, who died in his hometown in January, aged 82. He was the eldest son of the royal couple in Greece Paul I of Greece and Frederica of Hanover born Sofía had a close relationship. But in particular, a mourner at her brother’s funeral in Athens may have caused her grief. Her husband, the old king of Spain, full of scandals Juan Carlos.
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Scandals and humiliation
Sofia served as queen alongside Juan Carlos (85) for almost four decades. It was a lifetime for Spain, for the crown and against the tide. Rumors of unproven infidelities continued to circulate, while Sofia did everything she could to maintain the image of a happy royal family. She really was unsuccessful. The family is quite divided, they have not been fully reunited for years and Juan Carlos has lived in exile in Dubai since 2020.
Sofia was repeatedly humiliated. One day in 2011, a huge poster was hung in the capital Madrid alluding to her husband’s alleged adultery. The poster with the portraits of the then Spanish monarch, the former president of the USA Bill Clinton and the British crown prince and today King Charles The American agency Ashley Madison posted it on a wall on the busy Gran Vía shopping street.
“What do these ‘dignitaries’ have in common?” was written above the three portraits on the poster. “You should have used Ashley Madison,” was the response below. It is known that Clinton and Charles had extramarital affairs in the past. This was never proven for Juan Carlos. Also revelations from those described as a “former close friend” of the ex-monarch Corinna and Sayn-Wittgenstein are said to have affected Sofia.
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Sofia’s son-in-law, Cristinahusband Iñaki Urdangarin, was even sentenced to prison for embezzlement of public funds. The years-long investigations carried out by the Spanish judicial system against Juan Carlos, related to his financial misconduct, also did the rest. They were only discontinued last year, despite “irregularities”, simply because they were prescribed. Not exactly a clean slate for Sofia’s husband.
But the royal family Casa Real and Sofia have always adhered to the maxim “Never complain, never explain” that is said about the British royal family. Even after her husband’s abdication, plagued by affairs and health problems, in June 2014, Sofia continued to define her priorities in the country and in her family. Those who know her best are not surprised. “Sofía is a passionate fighter,” she said a few years ago Queen Noor of Jordan. Sofia now officially bears the title of “Reina Emerita” (Queen Emerita).
About Sofia’s life
Sofia also lived for a time in Germany, where she attended the elite Salem boarding school. She studied music and archeology in Athens and received several honorary doctorates, including from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Tokyo. Later, she would make sure her three children also received a full education. his two daughters, Elena (54) and Cristina (53), were the first members of the Royal House to graduate from university. Your son and today King Felipe VI. Unlike his father, he is considered very correct. The “clean man” is considered a bit boring at best, but he managed to improve the monarchy’s reputation again.
Juan Carlos met Sofia in 1954 during a cruise in the Aegean Sea. They married eight years later. In Spain, the then 24-year-old was by no means welcomed with open arms. The Spanish were suspicious of a Greek woman who did not speak Spanish and belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. Sofia adapted to her new role, converted to the Catholic faith and learned the language of her new home in just a few months. Today she says: “I’m 100% Spanish.”