Royal watchers read between the lines on book day

SPANISH booksellers took the opportunity on World Book Day yesterday (April 23) to honour the Don Quixote author, Miguel de Cervantes, who died on April 22 in 1616. 

King Felipe of Spain attended the Cervantes Award ceremony at Alcala de Henares University to celebrate Spanish writer Juan Goytisolo. The Cervantes Prize is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia put on a united front as they stepped out for the first time since new claims about the 47-year-old monarch’s father emerged.

One book that is unlikely to be appearing in the royal household’s library is the new one by journalist Ana Romero, who says King Juan Carlos had a decade-long affair. According to the former royal correspondent, the former king had a long-running relationship with a German socialite towards the end of his reign.

The new book also claims that Juan Carlos contemplated divorcing Felipe’s mother, Queen Sofia.

Although the couple did well to hide it, the news will have undoubtedly come as a blow to the Spanish royal who has been attempting to overhaul the image of the monarchy in Spain since taking the throne.