KING Felipe VI of Spain has turned 50 this week, with a commemorative coin and stamp (pictured) and as-yet unseen photos of domestic life with his wife, Queen Letizia and daughters released.
In his half-century of life, all of which has been as a Royal, Felipe VI has made more than 220 international trips, taken part in the Olympics as a yachtsman, and was the first Crown Prince to earn a degree and to swear allegiance to the Spanish Constitution.
From flag-bearer at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 to reigning monarch giving speeches at the Davos Economic Forum and United Nations summits, Felipe VI has been the most modern King yet – partly thanks to the influence of Queen Letizia, a former TV reporter with a master's degree in media and a regular feature on fashion pages for her elegant, but edgy style.
Between them, they have opened up the Royal régime to communities which have always been on the margins of the monarchy, including the gay, lesbian and bisexual population, the disabled, victims of terrorism, and the transsexual community.
His buzzwords are 'transparency', 'dialogue' and 'unity', and he takes inspiration from his father, the retired King Juan Carlos I – a 'friend, leader and advisor' – and his mother, Queen Sofía, 'an example of humanity, intellect and spiritualism'.
Conscious that the Spain he was born in is very different to the Spain he is King of – until he was seven years old, the country was under a fascist dictatorship led by General Franco, with an iron-fisted censorship over the arts until he was nine and the Constitution not in place until he was 10 – Felipe VI has always maintained that 'a positive balance is totally necessary'.
His eldest daughter, Crown Princess Leonor, who turned 12 in October, is already preparing for her future life as Queen of Spain, but pictures recently released of her with her parents and sister, the Infanta Sofía, 10, show that behind closed doors, they are a normal, close family unit complete with school runs, homework and home cooking.
