Relationships between Members of the Spanish Royal Family

[Blog Real]

I think Sofia will have an agenda and will represent the royal house in the future. But she may also have her own job.

 

[Somebody]

If it goes the same way as her aunts, she will be expected to take on royal engagements while her father is still king but will be ‘kicked out’ once her sister becomes queen as at that point she will no longer be a member of the Casa Real.

As others already pointed it, this is a quite complicated reality and not really fair for the person involved.

 

[Mbruno]

I think Sofia will have an agenda and will represent the royal house in the future. But she may also have her own job.

There is this odd rule in Spain that the parents, the consort, and the children (and grandchildren) of the King are official members of the Royal Family, but the King's siblings are not. So Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina (the latter prior to the Nóos scandal) were working royals for many years before being completely cut off when their brother ascended the throne.

If the same rule is kept for Sofia, there is an expiration date on her tenure as a possible working royal, which is the date of her sister's accession, when Sofia will then cease to be a member of the official Royal Family. We don't know when that will be, as it depends on King Felipe's longevity or on his willingness to abdicate, but, in any case, Sofia needs a Plan B (I mean, a career in the private sector) when she is cut off as her aunts.

 

[lula]

Thanks Lula. I am curious if 'education at the level of her sister' means that Sofia will do a military training first before university.

She is not obligated, but they say it is not something they have ruled out either. I talk about education in a general sense, not just university studies, but in a broader sense in terms of their role and responsibilities.

Many times we see how the Royal Houses educate the heir with a high sense of responsibility and sacrifice, but the other children receive a more lax education... in the end, the fact that they have to choose their own path or find work for themselves does not mean that they must also be aware that their actions impact their respective royal houses.

 

[lula]

There is this odd rule in Spain that the parents, the consort, and the children (and grandchildren) of the King are official members of the Royal Family, but the King's siblings are not. So Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina (the latter prior to the Nóos scandal) were working royals for many years before being completely cut off when their brother ascended the throne.

If the same rule is kept for Sofia, there is an expiration date on her tenure as a possible working royal, which is the date of her sister's accession, when Sofia will then cease to be a member of the official Royal Family. We don't know when that will be, as it depends on King Felipe's longevity or on his willingness to abdicate, but, in any case, Sofia needs a Plan B (I mean, a career in the private sector) when she is cut off as her aunts.

Really what they are saying is that Sofía will not be able to do what Elena and Cristina did, she cannot work in a private company or have a business, and at the same time receive money from the Royal House. Actually, with the internal rules established by Felipe, the members of the Royal Family can't do it.

Changing the Royal Decree on members of the Royal Family in the future is not difficult, but it will probably also include these measures of incompatibilities. Even if Elena and Cristina were still members of the Royal Family, they could not work for the Royal Family without giving up their lucrative jobs and generous private salaries.