Queen Sofia of Spain has been rushed to hospital in Madrid – as her son King Felipe issued an update on her health.
The royal, 85, was admitted to the Ruber International Clinic in Madrid to treat a urinary tract infection on Wednesday.
Her son King Felipe, 56, was later pictured waving from the passenger seat of his Lexus having visited her in hospital on Wednesday afternoon – and also attended her bedside on Tuesday evening, according to Spanish paper El Mundo.
He was quick to reassure concerned royal fans, telling media outside the hospital: ‘She is very well, cheerful and eager to be discharged and return as soon as possible.’
It is unclear how long Queen Sofia will be remaining under surveillance at the health centre.
Queen Sofia of Spain, 85, has been rushed to hospital. Pictured on Monday at Fernando Gomez-Acebo y Borbon’s tribute
Sofia has been the ‘queen mother’ of Spain since her husband King Juan Carlos abdicated the throne in favour of their son Felipe in 2014.
Since then she has kept up a busy schedule of public engagements alongside her son Felipe and his glamorous wife, Queen Letizia.
She has focused on her sponsoring activities, spending her time between La Zarzuela and the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca in the summer months.
As recently as Monday, she attended Fernando Gomez-Acebo y Borbon’s tribute but just the next day was rushed to hospital.
She also attended the wedding reception of Teresa Urquijo and Mayor of Madrid Luis Martínez-Almeida on Saturday, alongside a host of famous guests.
Sofia was joined by her husband Juan Carlos as well as their two daughters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina. Elena’s children, Victoria and Felipe, and Cristina’s son Juan, were also present.
Queen Sofia had planned to travel to Huesca on Friday for an engagement at the city’s food banks, but it has since been cancelled.
She is usually renowned for her good health and stays active, including using a walking machine in her room in La Zarzuela daily. This is her first time in hospital since she gave birth to King Felipe in 1968.
Her son King Felipe appeared in good spirits after visiting his mother, reassuring royal fans that she is ‘well’ and ‘eager’
Queen Letizia of Spain, Queen Sofia and Princess Sofia of Spain leave the Beatnik restaurant on August 2022 in Mallorca
Born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark on November 2, 1938, at Tatoi Palace in Athens, Greece, she is the eldest daughter of King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover.
A member of the Greek branch of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty, her great-great-grandmother is also Queen Victoria.
This made her a relative of both her friend the late Queen Elizabeth an Prince Philip.
Because Sofia’s family were forced into exile during the Second World War, she spent part of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa.
She finished her education at the prestigious Schloss Salem boarding school in Southern Germany, and then studied childcare, music and archaeology in Athens.
Sofia also studied at Fitzwilliam College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.
A keen yachtswoman, the royal represented her home country of Greece as a reserve member of the Gold Medal-winning sailing team at the 1960 Summer Olympics alongside her brother Constantine (heir to the now deposed Greek monarchy).
Sofía met Infante Juan Carlos, her paternal third cousin, in 1954 on a cruise in the Greek Islands and again at the Duke of Kent’s wedding in 1961.
Sofia has been known for being in good health for her entire life, and hasn’t been to hospital since Felipe was born
Princess Cristina of Spain and Queen Sofia are pictured at the tribute service on Monday
They married less than a year later in Athens at the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Dionysius.
Upon their marriage, she converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Catholicism and changed her name from Sophia to Sofia.
Soon after, in 1973, the monarchy in Greece was abolished.
Together, she and Juan Carlos have three children: Infanta Elena, Infanta Cristina, and King Felipe.
Juan Carlos is judged to have been instrumental in Spain’s peaceful transition to democracy and, with his wife Queen Sofia, then enjoyed years of admiration.
The couple had a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth and the British Royal Family – Prince Charles, Princess Diana and their two sons Princes William and Harry would often spend holidays at the summer palace in Majorca.
Besides accompanying her husband on official visits and occasions, Sofía also undertook solo engagements.
She is executive president of the Queen Sofía Foundation, and is honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons of Spain, as well as the Spanish Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts.
Queen Letizia of Spain and Queen Sofia at the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca in August 2023
The 1962 wedding of Prince Juan Carlos and Princess Sofia of Greece and Denmark in Athens
Prince Juan Carlos of Spain with his fiancee Princess Sofia of Greece after the announcement of their engagement
The Spanish royals with their children Cristina, Felipe and Elena on holiday at the Miravent Palace in Palma de Mallorca in 1976
As Queen, Sofia never publicly commented on political issues.
When her only son Felipe, then known as Prince of Asturias, announced his engagement to Letizia Ortiz in November 2003, Sofia took the former journalist and news presenter under her wing.
Letizia paid tribute to her future mother-in-law during her first speech since becoming engaged.
She said: ‘From now on, and more and more, I am going to integrate fully in this new life with the responsibilities that come with it… and with the support and affection of the King and Queen and the priceless example of the queen.’
In June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son and Felipe and Letizia became King and Queen of Spain. For all his early popularity, Juan Carlos has been serially unfaithful and has been accused of multiple charges of corruption.
That said, three investigations against the former King were eventually dropped and he has denied any wrong doing.
