Banquet crashed

Felipe and Letizia celebrated their anniversary

Crown Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia sneaked into King Felipe's banquet and moved their father to tears with emotional words.

(Bild: APA/Ballesteros, Pool photo via AP)

What a lovely surprise for King Felipe and Queen Letizia: Crown Princess Leonor and her sister Sofía crashed the banquet celebrating the Spanish royal couple's tenth anniversary on the throne to give a touching speech for their parents. Even dad Felipe had tears in his eyes!

As a video published on the Internet by Spanish media shows, Crown Princess Leonor and Princess Sofía took advantage of the occasion to give their parents a truly touching surprise.

Princesses crashed banquet
The princesses smuggled themselves into a festive lunch on Wednesday, which was attended not only by the royal couple, but also by head of government Pedro Sánchez and numerous other high dignitaries from state and society, to give an emotional speech to their parents.

"Mom, Dad, Your Majesties ... We're sorry we snuck in, but we have something to say today too," the princesses explained in their speech.

They continued: "Thank you for joining us to remind us that in these 10 years we have learned from our parents what the obligation we four have to all Spaniards means. Now I would like to ask you to join us in a toast to our mother and father, our kings. Because since we were born, we have been taught the value of this institution, the crown. Mom, Dad, thank you!"

Words that visibly touched the Spanish king. Felipe not only had tears in his eyes after his daughters' short speech, he was almost lost for words. Naturally, he immediately gave his pretty girls an air kiss. 

Appearance of the royal family on the balcony
The celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the enthronement of King Felipe VI of Spain began on Wednesday with a changing of the guard by the Royal Guard. Felipe, Queen Letizia, heir to the throne Leonor and her sister Sofía watched the colorful military spectacle from a balcony.

The ceremony, which lasted around half an hour, took place in the Plaza de la Armería in front of the Royal Palace in Madrid and featured lots of pomp, horsemen and historical uniforms.

Crown Princess Leonor, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia celebrated the anniversary of their accession to the throne.

(Bild: AFP)

Unlike the British Royal Family, an appearance by the royal family on the balcony is a rarity for the Spanish royals.

(Bild: APA/Juan Medina/Pool Photo via AP)

Six aircraft from the air force's Patrulla Águila (Eagle Patrol) aerobatic team thundered over the palace and painted stripes in the national colors of red and yellow in the sky.

The King then awarded 19 deserving citizens from all regions of the country with the Order of the Civil Merit, as seen on television. They were also invited to a festive lunch in the Royal Palace.

The royal couple celebrated their anniversary on the throne with their daughters Leonor and Sofia - and honored 19 deserving citizens.

(Bild: APA/AFP/POOL/Juan Medina)

Royal family in crisis
Felipe was enthroned on June 19, 2014, after his father, former King Juan Carlos, abdicated. At the time, the royal family was in crisis due to scandals surrounding Juan Carlos.

Since then, Felipe has endeavored to restore the reputation of the crown. Felipe has kept his distance from his father, who has been living in exile in Abu Dhabi since 2020.

Children, how time flies: King Felipe and Queen Letizia with their daughters at their enthronement on 19 June 2014

(Bild: APA/AFP/Jorge Guerrero)

According to a survey conducted by the opinion research institute Sigma Dos on behalf of the newspaper "El Mundo", almost 50 percent of Spaniards think that the monarchy is in a better or much better position today than in 2014. At the same time, however, a good 40 percent of respondents reject the constitutional monarchy.