Summer starts in Spain

It really is royal holiday season when you spot a Spanish royals in the fading Mallorcan sun. Put a monarch on the steps of the Marivent Palace there and you have a fanfare like no other to say that the summer break is well and truly upon us. So grab your sunnies and a big hat, Felipe has been prowling his palatial holiday home for a photocall which can only mean one thing. Summer starts right here.


Embed from Getty Images

The royal photocall at Marivent has been a staple for decades now. The Spanish Royal Family always decamped there en masse to take a summer break. Ten years ago, royals were spilling down its steps as the cameras snapped. Now, it's a much more select affair.

Embed from Getty Images

Since Felipe VI came to the throne in June 2014, this public part of a private holiday has been kept to the monarch, his wife Letizia and their two daughters.

Embed from Getty Images

That all ties in with the new approach to royal life taken by the Bourbons following the abdication of King Juan Carlos in favour of his son. This is a slimmed down royal family containing just Felipe, Letizia, their girls and his parents.

Embed from Getty Images However, appearances aren't everything. In recent days, Felipe has been snapped sailing with his nephews and nieces and Queen Sofia has been spotted more than once on the island she loves so much and which she made her summer kingdom for almost forty years. While the official photo call might have been all about the official family, Spain's royal summer is more complicated than that. Embed from Getty Images This year's Marivent marvel was shorter than usual but when it's just the four of you and you've done it plenty of times before, performance opportunities are limited. There were some very sweet photos of the royal children, eleven year old Leonor and ten year old Sofia, together and a few family moments before the new element Felipe and Letizia have brought in - handshakes with the press. Embed from Getty Images Then it was back indoors. We see Felipe and Letizia again at the end of the week at the traditional reception for the authorities on the island (Queen Sofia will be there too) and then the family will take their holidays. Felipe goes into this break in perhaps the strongest position of his short reign. The State Visit to the UK was a big success and at home a period of relative political calm has left the newest monarch on the continent able to focus on his own agenda. He'll be heading into his holidays with a spring in his step as Spain's royals signal the start of summer. Photo credit: El Mundo TV screen grab.