Scandal in Spain: the sisters of King Felipe VI were vaccinated in Abu Dhabi

The The sisters of King Felipe of Spain were vaccinated against the coronavirus in Abu Dhabi last month during a visit to their father, according to the Spanish press, sparking outrage in their country, where most Spaniards are still waiting for a dose.

Elena de Borbón and her sister Cristina visited the former king, Jean Charles, who lives in the United Arab Emirates after leaving Spain in August amid a cloud of tax evasion scandals. But they fueled the fire with their trip, deepening the discussion of the privileges of royalty.

Elena, 57, had to wait a few weeks to get vaccinated in Spain, while her sister officially resides in Switzerland.

It is not known how the infants were vaccinated because UAE only offers free COVID-19 vaccines to residents and citizens, and a valid ID card is required. According to statistics from Our World in Data, up to 60% of the population of the UAE has been vaccinated so far.

Labor Minister Yolanda Díaz told Spanish public television TVE that the incident gave a very bad image. “People who hold some kind of representation have to be exemplary and that saddens me because there are many professionals who take risks, who are not vaccinated and who defend us,” he said. Díaz argued that it was not correct for royalty to be vaccinated while in Spain, many doctors and vulnerable people are still waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Cristina’s law firm did not respond to a request for comment, while Fundación Mapfre, the social and cultural arm of Madrid insurance company Mapfre where Elena de Borbón works, declined to comment.

From Casa Real, they pointed out that Felipe VI “is not responsible for the acts of his sisters” for which he defended that this action of Elena and Cristina does not concern the institution. In any case, from Zarzuela, they influenced that the kings Felipe and Letizia and their daughters, the princess Leonor and the Infanta Sofía, be vaccinated against “if necessary”.

Infanta Elena flew to Abu Dhabi several times to meet her father. The first time was the weekend of February 6-7, and he reportedly did it with his sister, Infanta Cristina. The following weekend, February 13 and 14, they returned to Spain already vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the newspaper Confidential, who was the first to report on the subject.

According to this newspaper, The King Emeritus himself and the former director of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), Félix Sanz Roldán, have also been vaccinated in the United Arab Emirates.

Spain wants 70% of its 47 million people to be vaccinated by the summer, but so far only 1.3 million have been fully vaccinated, or about 2.7% of the total.

The scandal also comes after many high-ranking military and national politicians were found to skip the vaccination queue, sparking a wave of resignations.

The The second vice-president of the government, Pablo Iglesias, said there was “enormous outrage” at the “new scandals” that affect the royal family and stressed that Spanish society does not accept members of the royal house to be vaccinated abroad while the rest of the population awaits their turn. But also the vice-president and leader of Podemos underlined that the cases of “alleged corruption” which affect Juan Carlos I “push” “the republican horizon”.

The King Emeritus has been in Abu Dhabi since August, where he visited after the decision to move his residence out of Spain was made public. Felipe VI’s father explained that he was leaving Spain “because of the public repercussions that certain past events generate” in his private life and to facilitate his son’s work as head of state.

Podemos spokesman in Congress, Pablo Echenique, yesterday condemned the lack of exemplary nature of the vaccination of infantas Cristina and Elena in the Emirates and stressed that this “permanent manifestation of legal and economic privilege” brings the Republic closer every day. from Spain. . Equality Minister Irene Montero also spoke today to point out that, in the lineage of Iglesias, this vaccination outside the country opens a debate on “the usefulness of the monarchy” and brings together a “republican horizon” which is “closer than far”.

“To the United Arab Emirates to visit your escaped father and get vaccinated before the bill. Like any other Spaniard, let’s go. It is a lack of respect for our country. Other”MP Íñigo Errejón wrote on Twitter.

(With information from Reuters and Europa Press)

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