Spanish Royal Family
The Spanish Royal Family consists of the present king, the queen consort, their children and their parents. The Spanish royal family belongs to the House of Bourbon. The membership of the Royal Family is defined by royal decree and consists of: the King of Spain, the monarch's spouse, the monarch's parents, and the heir to the Spanish throne.[1]
The Spanish Royal Family should not be confused with the Family of the King, which refers to the extended family of the monarch.
Titles and styles
The titles and styles of the Royal Family are as follows:[2]
- The occupant of the Throne is The King or The Queen, together with other titles pertaining to the Crown or belonging to members of the Royal Family. He or She is styled His or Her Majesty.
- The King's wife bears the title of Queen with the style Her Majesty.
- The husband of the Queen regnant bears the title of Prince and is styled His Royal Highness.
- The King's heir apparent or heir presumptive bears the title Prince or Princess of Asturias with the style His or Her Royal Highness.
- A King's sons and daughters, not being the Prince or Princess of the Asturias, as well as the children of the Prince or Princess, bear the title Infante or Infanta of Spain, and are styled as His or Her Royal Highness. The children of an Infante or Infanta have the rank (but not the title) of Grandees, and the style of His or Her Excellency.
- Spouses and widows/widowers of the monarch's sons and daughters, other than those of the Prince or Princess of Asturias, are entitled to the form of address and honours the monarch may grant them.
- The sovereign may also grant the dignity of Infante or Infanta with the style of Highness.
- If the heirs of King Juan Carlos I were to be extinguished, the 1978 Constitution reserves the right for the Cortes Generales to designate the successor to the throne as may be suitable for Spain.
Members of the Royal Family
- HM Don Felipe VI, King of Spain
- HM Doña Letizia, Queen of Spain (The King's wife)
- HRH Doña Leonor, Princess of Asturias (The King's first daughter and heir)
- HRH Doña Sofía, Infanta of Spain (The King's second daughter)
- HM King Don Juan Carlos I (The King's father)
- HM Queen Doña Sofia (The King's mother)
Members of the King's Family
- HRH Doña Elena, Duchess of Lugo, Infanta of Spain (The King's first sister)
- HE Don Felipe de Marichalar y Borbón (The King's nephew)
- HE Doña Victoria de Marichalar y Borbón (The King's niece)
- HRH Doña Cristina, Infanta of Spain (The King's second sister)
- HE Don Iñaki Urdangarin (The King's brother-in-law)
- HE Don Juan Urdangarín y de Borbón (The King's nephew)
- HE Don Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón (The King's nephew)
- HE Don Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón (The King's nephew)
- HE Doña Irene Urdangarín y de Borbón (The King's niece)
- HRH Doña Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz, Dowager Viscountess de la Torre, Infanta of Spain (The King's widowed aunt)
- HE Doña Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (The King's first cousin)
- HE Don Juan Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón, Viscount de la Torre (The King's first cousin)
- HE Don Bruno Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (The King's first cousin)
- HE Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (The King's first cousin)
- HE Don Fernando Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (The King's cousin)
- HRH Doña Margarita, Duchess of Soria and Hernani, Infanta of Spain (The King's aunt)
- HE Don Carlos, Duke of Soria and Hernani (The King's uncle-in-law)
- HE Don Alfonso Zurita y de Borbón (The King's first cousin)
- HE Doña María Zurita y de Borbón (The King's first cousin)
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
- HRH Doña Alicia, Dowager Duchess of Calabria, Infanta of Spain
Royal family tree
Queen María de las Mercedes | King Alfonso XII | Queen María Cristina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies | Mercedes, Princess of Asturias | King Alfonso XIII | Queen Victoria Eugenia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Infante Alfonso, Duke of Calabria | Infanta Alicia, Dowager Duchess of Calabria | Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona | Princess María de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria | Princess Anne, Dowager Duchess of Calabria | Luís Gómez-Acebo, Duke of Badajoz and Viscount de la Torre | The Duchess of Badajoz | King Juan Carlos I* | Queen Sofía* | The Duke of Soria and Hernani | The Duchess of Soria and Hernani | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jaime de Marichalar (div. 2010) | The Duchess of Lugo | Iñaki Urdangarin | Infanta Cristina | The King* | The Queen* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Don Felipe de Marichalar y Borbón | Doña Victoria de Marichalar y Borbón | Don Juan Urdangarín y de Borbón | Don Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón | Don Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón | Doña Irene Urdangarín y de Borbón | The Princess of Asturias* | Infanta Sofía* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Notes
* Member of the Royal Family (as opposed to the Family of the King, or extended family)
Public role
Members of the Spanish Royal Family are often asked by non-profit charitable, cultural, or religious organizations within and without Spain to become their patrons, a role the Spanish constitution recognizes and codified in Title II Article 62 (j). It is incumbent for the monarch "to exercise the High Patronage of the Royal Academies".[3] Royal patronage conveys a sense of official credibility as the organization is scrutinized for suitability. A royal presence often greatly raises the profile of the organization and attracts media publicity and public interest that the organization may not have otherwise garnered, aiding in the charitable cause or cultural event. Royalty make use of their considerable celebrity to assist the organization to raise funds or to promote government policy.
Additionally, members of the royal family may also pursue their own charitable and cultural interests. Queen Sofía devotes much of her time to the Queen Sofia Foundation (Fundación Reina Sofía);[4] while King Felipe chairs the Prince of Asturias Foundation (Fundación Príncipe de Asturias), which aims to promote "scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form part of mankind's universal heritage."[5]
The Prince of Asturias Foundation holds an annual awards ceremony acknowledging the contributions of individuals, entities, and/or organizations from around the world who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, or public affairs. King Felipe serves as president of the Codespa Foundation, which finances specific economic and social development activities in Latin American and other countries, and serves as president of the Spanish branch of the Association of European Journalists, which is composed of achieving communications professionals.[6] King Felipe also serves as honorary chair of the Ministry of Culture National Awards Ceremonies.[7]
Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, Juan Carlos' elder daughter, is the Director of Cultural and Social Projects of Mapfre Foundation,[8] while Infanta Cristina, Juan Carlos' younger daughter, served as the Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations for the 2nd World Assembly on Ageing, and is a member of the Dali Foundation Board of Trustees, president of the International Foundation for Disabled Sailing, and Director of Social Welfare at the La Caixa Foundation in Barcelona where she lives with her family.[9]
King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, and Infanta Cristina are all members of the Bilderberg Group, an informal think-tank centered on United States and European relations, and other world issues.[10][11][12]
See also
References
- ↑ Royal Decree 2917/1981, dated 27 November, on the Civil Registry of the Royal Family Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE)
- ↑ Royal Decree 1368/1987, dated 6 November, regulating titles, forms of address and honours pertaining to the Royal Family and to the Regents Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE)
- ↑ 1978 Spanish Constitution. Part II. The Crown
- ↑ Queen Sofia Foundation
- ↑ Prince of Asturias Foundation
- ↑ Codespa Foundation
- ↑ Delivery of the National Awards of the Ministry of Culture 2008
- ↑ Infanta Elena
- ↑ Infanta Cristina
- ↑ Mark Oliver (4 June 2004). "The Bilderberg group". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Bilderberg Meeting of 1997 Assembles". PR Newswire. 13 June 1997.
- ↑ "Bilderberg Group Meets In Athens Amid Tight Security". NASDAQ.