Queen Sofia of Spain has been rushed to hospital in Madrid, while her son King Felipe published an update on her health.
The 85-year-old royal was admitted to the Ruber Internacional Clinic in Madrid on Wednesday to treat a urinary tract infection.
Her son King Philip, 56, was later photographed waving from the passenger seat of his Lexus after visiting her in hospital on Wednesday afternoon and also attending her bedside on Tuesday night. according to Spanish newspaper The world.
He was quick to reassure worried royal fans, telling media outside the hospital: “She is doing very well, cheerful and looking forward to being discharged and returning as soon as possible.”
It is not clear how long Queen Sofia will remain under surveillance at the health center.
Queen Sofia of Spain, 85, has been rushed to hospital. Photographed on Monday at the tribute to Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón.
Sofia has been the ‘queen mother’ of Spain since her husband, King Juan Carlos, abdicated the throne in favor of his son Felipe in 2014.
Since then he has maintained a busy schedule of public engagements with his son Felipe and his glamorous wife, Queen Letizia.
He has focused on his sponsorship activities, spending his time between La Zarzuela and the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca during the summer months.
As recently as Monday, she He attended the tribute to Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón but the next day he was rushed to the hospital.
She also attended the wedding reception of Teresa Urquijo and Madrid Mayor Luis Martínez-Almeida on Saturday, along with a host of celebrity guests.
Sofía was joined by her husband Juan Carlos and her two daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina. Also present were Elena’s children, Victoria and Felipe, and Cristina’s son, Juan.
Queen Sofia was scheduled to travel to Huesca on Friday to attend an event at the city’s food banks, but it has been cancelled.
She is often known for her good health and staying active, including daily use of a treadmill in her room at La Zarzuela. This is her first time at her hospital since she gave birth to King Philip in 1968.
Her son King Philip appeared in good spirits after visiting his mother, assuring royal fans that she is “doing well” and “looking forward.”
Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen Sofia and Princess Sofia of Spain leave the Beatnik restaurant in August 2022 in Mallorca
She was born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark on November 2, 1938 at the Tatoi Palace in Athens, Greece, and is the eldest daughter of King Paul of Greece and Frederick of Hanover.
A member of the Greek branch of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty, his great-great-grandmother is also Queen Victoria.
This made her a relative of both her friend, the late Queen Elizabeth, and Prince Philip.
Because Sofia’s family was forced into exile during World War II, she spent part of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa.
She finished her education at the prestigious Schloss Salem boarding school in southern Germany and then studied childcare, music and archeology in Athens.
Sofia also studied at Fitzwilliam College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
A keen sailor, the royal represented her home country, Greece, as a reserve member of the gold medal-winning sailing team at the 1960 Summer Olympics alongside her brother Constantine (heir to the now deposed Greek monarchy ).
Sofia met the infant Juan Carlos, her third paternal cousin, in 1954 on a cruise through the Greek islands and again at the Duke of Kent’s wedding in 1961.
Sofía has been known for enjoying good health throughout her life and has not been in the hospital since Felipe was born.
Princess Cristina of Spain and Queen Sofia appear at Monday’s tribute
They married less than a year later in Athens, in the Catholic cathedral of Saint Denis.
After her marriage, she converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Catholicism and changed her name from Sophia to Sophia.
Shortly after, in 1973, the monarchy was abolished in Greece.
Together, she and Juan Carlos have three children: Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina and King Felipe.
Juan Carlos is considered to have been instrumental in Spain’s peaceful transition to democracy and, along with his wife Queen Sofia, enjoyed years of admiration.
The couple had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family: Prince Charles, Princess Diana and their two sons, Princes William and Harry, often spent their holidays at the summer palace in Mallorca.
In addition to accompanying her husband on visits and official occasions, Sofia also performed solo engagements.
She is executive president of the Reina Sofía Foundation, and is honorary president of the Royal Board of Trustees for Education and Care of People with Disabilities of Spain, as well as of the Spanish Foundation to Help Drug Addicts.
Queen Letizia of Spain and Queen Sofia at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca in August 2023
The 1962 wedding of Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofia of Greece and Denmark in Athens
Prince Juan Carlos of Spain with his fiancée Princess Sofia of Greece after the announcement of their engagement
Spanish royalty with their children Cristina, Felipe and Elena on vacation at the Miravent Palace in Palma de Mallorca in 1976
As Queen, Sofia never commented publicly on political issues.
When her only son, Felipe, then known as Prince of Asturias, announced his engagement to Letizia Ortiz in November 2003, Sofía took the former journalist and news anchor under her wing.
Letizia paid tribute to her future mother-in-law during her first speech since they got engaged.
He said: ‘From now on, and increasingly, I am going to fully integrate into this new life with the responsibilities that it entails… and with the support and affection of the Kings and the priceless example of the queen. ‘
In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of his son and Felipe and Letizia became King and Queen of Spain. Despite his initial popularity, Juan Carlos has been serially unfaithful and has been accused of multiple counts of corruption.
That said, three investigations against the former king were eventually dropped and he has denied any wrongdoing.