In Spain, concern is growing for the health conditions of Sofia of Spain, 85 years old, wife of the emeritus king Juan Carlos and mother of king Felipe VI. The queen was admitted to the Clínica Ruber Internacional in Madrid for a urinary tract infection and is under medical observation. On the day of admission, Wednesday, an official statement was released by the Palace: "Her Majesty Queen Sofia was transferred last night to the Ruber Clinic due to a urinary tract infection. The progression is very rapid and favorable," the brief note read.

William at the stadium with George and at the pub with the mother-in-law: the prince seeks "normality" while Kate is getting treatment

What the King Said

For now, there is no alarm about her clinical situation also because the king appeared relaxed, after visiting her. «She is cheerful and looking forward to being discharged». The king always appeared relaxed and spent about half an hour inside the hospital, the same one where his daughters Leonor and Sofia were born. With the sovereign, also the older sister Elena, who, however, preferred not to speak with journalists.

The Health of the Emeritus Queen

Born in 1935, this is the first time that Sofia of Spain has needed hospitalization since 1968, when she gave birth to the future king. The emeritus queen was last seen in public last Monday, at the funeral of her cousin Fernando Gomez-Acebo, and before that at the wedding between the mayor of Madrid José Luis Martínez Almeida and Teresa Urquijo Moreno de Borbón, second cousin of King Felipe of Spain. With the former sovereign, also her daughters (besides Elena, she is the mother of Cristina, ed) and some grandchildren.

The Tense Relationship with Felipe and Letizia Ortiz

Absent, however, were King Felipe and Letizia Ortiz, who, with the exception of the emeritus sovereigns, have distanced themselves from the rest of the family for various reasons: Iñaki Urdangarin, Cristina's ex-husband, has been in prison for fraud, a bad story in which initially the princess also seemed involved, but ultimately was found unrelated. Hence, the decision to distance themselves. Elena, on the other hand, would have a very bad relationship with Ortiz, who would have sided with Jaime de Marichalar, her ex-husband, in the aftermath of the divorce, and who has always remained close to her father Juan Carlos, despite the scandals that have characterized his life. The "shadow princess", they call her, one who has always taken a stand within the family, but who has never needed to share it with the world. Today the distance from the brother seems significant, but for the mother the two remain united.