Photos: Javier Fuentes
The Prince and Princess of Asturias and their daughter, Infanta Leonor, landed this Monday, December 26, at approximately 1:30 p.m. at Lanzarote Airport, the island where they will spend the Christmas holidays until December 31.
Surprisingly, Don Felipe, Doña Leticia, and little Leonor arrived in Guacimeta aboard a regular flight of the Spanair company, whose arrival was scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
The couple and their firstborn will spend these days at the royal residence of La Mareta, in Costa Teguise, which already hosted the President of the Government, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, and his family last August, and in November the King and Queen of Spain themselves during their visit to Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife.
Arrival at La Mareta
The entrance to La Mareta occurred after two in the afternoon, specifically at 2:04 p.m. Don Felipe was driving a black Audi A3, and Doña Letizia and Infanta Leonor were traveling in the back seats.
Escorted by various vehicles of the Civil Guard and the Royal House's own security, the rain stopped for a few moments and the Princes greeted briefly before entering as many onlookers as were gathered at the gates of the royal residence.
During the transit from Guacimeta to Costa Teguise, a Infanta Leonor could be seen very sheltered from the cold, with copious white outerwear. This is the first trip that the Princes have made outside of Madrid since the birth of their firstborn.
At the site, the staff of several media and about eighty people, mostly peninsular and British tourists, were waiting under heavy security measures, who after more than an hour and a half of waiting in some cases, managed to take away a pleasant memory and a beautiful photo.
Among the attendees, Juan Perrish, an 83-year-old Asturian who, proudly wearing his txapela (Basque or Asturian beret), decided to witness the arrival of the Princes at La Mareta. "I have known the King and the Royal Family for years, we usually meet in Purrua and Ribadesella, where we last saw each other two months ago at the awards ceremony, and I agreed to see them on the Island, where I have one of my daughters," he commented.
Another couple and their two children, from Barcelona, did not hesitate to skip the excursion of the day when they learned of the visit of the Princes. "We were listening to the radio in the rental car, and instead of visiting Haría, we went to La Mareta. We have been waiting here since half past twelve," they explained.
According to government sources, the Royal visit to the Island has launched a large security device that will last throughout the stay of the Princes in Lanzarote.
Although it was initially planned that they would spend New Year's Eve in Lanzarote, government sources have not confirmed this, assuring that it is very possible that the return to Madrid will take place during the day of next Saturday itself.
The Princes are scheduled to make an official pose this Tuesday at ten in the morning.
The royal house of La Mareta, whose design was the work of the most universal Lanzarote artist, César Manrique, has all the necessary services to guarantee the full enjoyment of those who occupy it.
Even little Leonor will have all the facilities for a baby of her age since, despite the recent reform to which she was subjected by Zapatero's wife, Sonsoles Espinosa, the property retains part of the facilities and furniture that was already used by Doña Elena's firstborn in the visit of the Kings in January 1999, when the mother of Don Juan Carlos, Doña María de las Mercedes, suddenly died.
Since then, Prince Don Felipe has not set foot on the Island again, and he is doing so now precisely, when it has been six years since the death of his paternal grandmother. But Lanzarote is also a place that brings him good memories, because here he has great friends and it is where he has enjoyed several of his passions, especially water sports and direct and close contact with nature.
It is not expected that the weather will improve too much on the Island, so it will be difficult for the Prince and Princess of Asturias and their daughter to enjoy some sunshine before returning.
The firstborn of the Prince and Princess of Asturias, who will be baptized on January 14 at the Palace of La Zarzuela, with her grandparents the King and Queen as godparents, was born in the early morning of October 31, three weeks earlier than planned, at the Rúber Internacional Clinic in Madrid.