Queen Sofia Wins Apology from Online Adultery Agency
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Queen Sofia of Spain has won an apology from an online dating agency for adulterers after it used her image in an advertising campaign mocking the King's rumoured indiscretions.


The 74-year old Greek-born spouse of King Juan Carlos took legal action against US-based agency Ashley Madison for "damage to her honour and dignity" after it used a photograph of her in a series of adverts last year.

The company, which specialises in connecting people looking for extra-marital affairs, has issued a personal apology to Queen Sofia and promised never to use her image in its marketing campaigns.

The offending advertisements contained a doctored image of the smiling Queen draped around the bare shoulders of a much younger man, beneath the slogan in Spanish: "You no longer have to spend the night alone".

Published first in February 2012 and then again last October, it apparently refered to widespread allegations that King Juan Carlos had conducted numerous affairs during their 50-year marriage.

An explosive biography of Queen Sofia, written by Pilar Eyre, called "The Solitude of the Queen" was published in January 2012. It detailed her long-standing suffering as the wife of serial womanizer. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Bahrain King's Invitation to Windsor Castle Stirs Controversy
During her almost 60 year reign - Queen Elizabeth II has hosted hundreds of lunches for foreign monarchs. Few in recent years have had such a controversial guest list. The King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is among those invited to dine at Windsor Castle at a time when Bahrain has come under international pressure over allegations of serious human rights violations. The crackdown against pro-reform demonstrators has drawn disgust and concern in equal measure from campaigners. Al Jazeera's Emma Hayward reports from London.

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Queen Sofia of Spain: Europe's Lonely Royal Consort
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Ordered to decline an invitation to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee banquet, Spain's Queen Sofia is more isolated and alone than ever.

For half a century she has been by his side, a quiet, dignified presence through turbulent decades. But now Spain is beginning to ask just how much more Queen Sofia can take.

Against a backdrop of family financial scandal and an increasingly troubled marriage, Queen Sofia was counting the days until she could escape to London and attend Friday's Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle – an eagerly anticipated family gathering.

But 48 hours before she was due to leave she was prevented by the government from attending. Declining the invite on her behalf, the Spanish government cited the recent "heightened tensions" with Britain over the ownership of the island of Gibraltar, currently the scene of a row over fishing rights.

The government's decision focused attention once again on the troubled life of the woman whom some are calling the loneliest royal consort in Europe.

"She was really looking forward to it," said Pilar Eyre, whose book The Loneliness of the Queen has been top of the best seller list in Spain since it was published in January. "It was a huge blow for her to be stopped from attending." » | Harriet Alexander, in Madrid | Sunday, May 20, 2012

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Queen Sofia to Snub Diamond Jubilee Lunch over Gibraltar Row

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Queen Sofia of Spain has been ordered to turn down an invitation from the Queen to a Diamond Jubilee lunch for the world's sovereign monarchs because of an escalating diplomatic row over Gibraltar.

Queen Sofia had earlier accepted the invite to Friday's celebration at Windsor Castle, but in a last minute snub by Spain's government she has been told not to attend because it would be "inappropriate in the current circumstances".

Last week Spain's foreign ministry issued a formal complaint to Britain's Ambassador in Madrid over the planned visit in June of The Earl and Countess of Wessex to the disputed territory of Gibraltar to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year.

The Spanish government expressed its "upset and concern" over the visit by the Queen's youngest son and his wife to the territory, a tiny peninsula sitting at Spain's southwestern corner over which it still claims sovereignty. At the time however, it seemed unlikely to take the matter further.

In fact, when asked if Queen Sofia would still be attending the Windsor Castle event, Jose Garcia-Margallo, Spain's foreign minister confirmed she would be free to do so in a "private capacity".

However, in a sudden U-turn and with less than 48 hours until the lunch, Spain's royal household disclosed that the government had ordered Queen Sofia to reject the invitation to Windsor Castle, where kings and queens from around the world will convene to celebrate the Queen's 60 years on the throne. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, May 16, 2012

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Spain's King and Queen Will Not Celebrate Golden Wedding Anniversary

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Spain's royal court has confirmed that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia will not hold any private or public celebrations of their Golden Wedding anniversary in a development that appears to confirm an estrangement in the relationship.

When King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia celebrated their silver wedding anniversary on May 14, 1987 they hosted a lavish reception at the Royal Palace inviting 25 other couples from across Spain who married on the same day.

But their golden wedding anniversary which falls next Monday will be marked with no such celebration.

The lack of a formal celebration has done much to fuel speculation over the state of the 74-year-old Monarch's marriage.

The last bout of speculation began when King Juan Carlos fractured his hip during an ill-fated safari trip to Botswana to hunt elephants.

Amid the public outcry over the nature and expense of the private trip, which led to an unprecedented apology by the shame faced monarch issued on the steps of the hospital, it was noted that Queen Sofia had paid only a brief visit to his bedside.

Royal commentators were quick to remark that the 26-minute bedside visit by Queen Sofia, who had not been on the hunting trip but visiting her Greek relatives, hinted at the deep breakdown in their relationship.

"The failure of his marriage to Queen Sofia, from whom he is practically separated, is public knowledge," wrote Jose Antonio Zarzalejos, a royal commentator and the former director of respected daily ABC. » | Fiona Govan, Madrid | Wednesday, May 09, 2012

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Michelle Obama Meets Spain’s King
First Lady Michelle Obama and her daughter Sasha were greeted by Spain’s King Juan Carlos on Sunday on the resort island of Mallorca. Photograph: The New York Times
THE NEW YORK TIMES: PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain (AP) -- U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha had lunch with Spain's king and queen on Sunday at the royal family's holiday retreat on the resort island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean.

Mrs. Obama and her daughter arrived at Marivent palace shortly before 1 p.m. and were greeted at the front door of the residence by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia.

The king, a keen yachtsman, has for decades spent August vacations at the palace with its dramatic cliff-top views of the sea on the Balearic island's southwestern coast near Palma de Mallorca.

Lunch was Andalusian-style chilled gazpacho soup, chargrilled turbot, veal escalopes with mustard, Oriental rice with sauteed mushrooms, a Mallorca-style vegetable ratatouille and sliced fruit with ice cream, accompanied by wines from the northern regions of Rueda and Rioja, the palace said. >>> The Associated Press | Sunday, August 08, 2010

Thrifty Queen Sofia
Spain's Queen Sofia has given the British Royal family a lesson in fiscal responsibility by taking a £13 budget airline flight to London. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Queen Sofia of Spain has given the British Royal Family a lesson in cost-cutting - by taking a £13 budget airline flight to London.

The 70-year-old monarch flew with low-cost airline Ryanair from northern Spain to Stansted on Sunday evening to visit her brother, who is recovering from heart surgery in a London hospital.

A source at the Spanish royal palace said it was 'common practice' for members of the House of Bourbon to fly on scheduled flights.

The source added: 'Members of the Royal Family regularly travel on regular scheduled flights both nationally and internationally.

'The King is the only member of the Royal Family who always travels on military flights.

'Whenever possible the royals use Spanish airlines, but in this case Ryanair was the best option for getting from Santander to London.

'It may well be first time the royals have used Ryanair.'

The source could not say whether the queen had had to pay any of the extra charges Ryanair imposes for having bags other than hand luggage, or for checking in at the airport rather than online.

Her bargain bucket air fare comes in stark contrast to the British Royal Family, none of whom - with the exception of one or two of the younger royals - have ever flown on a budget flight. >>> By Tom Worden and Rebecca English | Tuesday, June 02, 2009

Spain's Queen Sofia Objects to 'Gay Marriage,' and Parades
Photo of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia courtesy of SpiegelOnline International
SPIEGELONLINE INTERNATIONAL: The royal family in Spain enjoys a guarded popularity because it tries to keep out of politics. But a new biography of the queen reveals a regal hauteur -- and Catholic bias -- on matters from Hillary Clinton to the phrase "gay marriage."

A new book about Spain's Queen Sofia has caused an uproar among gays and lesbians because of the monarch's sniffy opinions regarding pride parades and gay marriage.

Leaks from her new biography, The Queen Up Close, appeared in the newspaper El País on Thursday, and the normally reticent queen surprised many people by opening her mouth about political matters.

"I can understand, accept and respect that there are people of other sexual tendencies, but should they be proud to be gay?" she says in the book by journalist Pilar Urbano, which is officially published on Sunday, her 70th birthday. "Should they ride on a parade float and come out in protests? If all of those who aren't gay came out to protest we would halt traffic."

She also objected to the term "gay marriage," although the Spanish parliament legalized same-sex marriages in 2005.

"If those people want to live together, dress up like bride and groom and marry, they could have a right to do so, or not, depending on the law of their country," she said, "but they should not call this matrimony, because it isn't. There are many possible names: social contract, social union." >>> msm – with wire reports | October 31, 2008

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