Silent world of loneliest queen, Sofia

Madrid: For half a century she has been by his side, a quiet, dignified presence through turbulent decades. But now Spain is beginning to ask just how much more Queen Sofia can take.

Against a backdrop of family financial scandal and an increasingly troubled marriage to King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia was counting the days until she could escape to London and attend Friday's Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle — an eagerly anticipated family gathering.

But 48 hours before she was due to leave, she was prevented from attending. Declining the invitation on her behalf, the Spanish government cited the recent "heightened tensions" with Britain over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, currently the scene of a row over fishing rights.

The government's decision focused attention once again on the troubled life of the woman some call the loneliest monarch in Europe.

"She was really looking forward to it," said Pilar Eyre, whose book The Loneliness of the Queen has been top of the bestseller list in Spain since it was published in January. "It was a huge blow for her to be stopped from attending."

Isolated

Born into the Greek royal family, Queen Sofia was eagerly anticipating seeing her brother King Constantine, godfather to the Duke of Cambridge, and her many cousins. Given that it was a meeting of equals, protocol was forgotten — Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands even threw her arms around the British Queen in a warm greeting.

Yesterday, the Spanish newspaper El Mundo featured a huge picture of the 27 royals, with the headline "The only absence was Cousin Sofia".

The newspaper also pointed out that protocol would have probably seated Queen Sofia next to Queen Elizabeth, owing to their close family ties.

"It was to be a real treat for her to see her family, get dressed up and also relax with friends who live similar lifestyles," said Ms Eyre. "But now she has to return to her role of supporting the King in silence, and just keep her head down. She is suffering a huge amount."

Queen Sofia's resigned acceptance of her duty — her inability to carve her own path — is a poignant reminder of how isolated and powerless she really is. Queen Sofia is frequently sidelined and simply told what to do.

And her sadness at being told to shun the family gathering must have been all the more painful, given her recent marital problems. Monday was her 50th wedding anniversary. Needless to say, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia did not celebrate the occasion.

"There's nothing to celebrate." King Juan Carlos tripped on a hunting trip to Botswana last month, breaking his hip and provoking a furious reaction back in Spain.

What was the King doing waltzing around the world shooting elephants, the people asked, while they were in the midst of an economic crisis?

Mysterious friend

That the King was accompanied on the trip by a glamorous blonde German princess raised even more eyebrows at home. Did his wife know he was on a "private holiday" with a woman almost 30 years his junior?

Queen Sofia has kept her dignity throughout the scandal. On Thursday at their home, the Zarzuela Palace, she presented awards for contribution to the arts to the opera singer Placido Domingo and the film director Pablo Almodovar, looking strained, perhaps, but composed.

The King was also present; it was the first time the couple had been seen together in public since Easter. Yet the publication the next day of an in-dept portrait of the German princess who accompanied her husband to Botswana must have infuriated 73-year-old Queen Sofia.

Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 46, features on the cover of this month's Spanish edition of Vanity Fair magazine, described as "the mysterious friend of the King".

Yesterday newspaper sellers in Madrid said the magazine was flying off the shelves. Miss zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a twice-divorced German businesswoman who reportedly acted as an adviser to the King, was said to be "shocked" at the attention, and to have fled to Monaco.

"Who wouldn't be if suddenly the world's press appeared at your door, attacking you and accusing you of being the King's lover?" said her first husband, Philip Adkins, an American shipping magnate, in the magazine.

"The only thing she told me was that the King was her friend, and an amazing man who she admired. She has vehemently denied being romantically involved with the King and has instructed her lawyers to pursue anyone who claims otherwise. But that she and the King had a meeting of minds is not in doubt.

Miss zu Sayn-Wittgenstein worked for the prestigious London-based hunting company Boss & Co, and organised adventures in Mozambique, and a shooting party at Blenheim Palace.

Dedication

Cap Lesesne, a high-society plastic surgeon based on Park Avenue in New York, said: "She's a wonderful woman: intelligent, attractive, fun. She's the perfect date." But the King has now been forced to distance himself from the German princess.

"All his life has been about sacrifice and the preservation of the reputation of the monarchy. Everything else comes second." The King's dedication to the throne is unquestionable. He acceded to the throne in 1975 two days after the death of General Francisco Franco.

The Spanish people appreciate his no-nonsense manner and remember how he thwarted an attempted military coup in 1981, when he made a televised broadcast calling on people to respect democracy.

Scrutiny

Spain's royal couple are, however, now coming under unprecedented scrutiny, along with their three children the heir to the throne, Felipe, 44; Infanta Elena, 48; and Infanta Cristina, 46. Infanta Cristina's husband, Inaki Urdangarin, has been declared a suspect in a fraud case involving millions of euros of public money and appeared in court in February.

The case has driven a stake through the heart of the family, with the King furious about the scandal — Urdangarin denies all charges — and the queen interested only in comforting her daughter.

— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2012