King Felipe bans daughters and parents from private sector employment and announces stringent Royal account audits
Thursday, July 31, 2014 @ 11:51 AM
KING Felipe VI has banned his parents and daughters from working in the private sector and has stopped all financial allowances payable to his sisters, the Infantas Cristina and Elena.
All Royal accounts will be scrutinised annually by State auditors, who normally only do this with ministries, universities and public-sector companies or organisations, and will be published afterwards where anyone can view them.
The Royal family will officially only comprise Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, plus his parents King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía – who retain their titles despite the former's abdication last month – and his daughters, Princess Leonor and the Infanta Sofía.
Cristina and Elena will be allowed to retain their titles but will not be considered 'Royal family' – instead, they and their children will merely be referred to as 'family of HM The King'.
This means Felipe VI's two sisters will not represent the Crown in public engagements other than in exceptional circumstances, when they will not be paid for their appearance.
Their non-Royal status means neither sister will be prevented from working in the private sector – the Infanta Cristina, also known as the Duchess of Palma has been employed by La Caixa bank's cultural and charitable foundation for over 20 years and now works from their Geneva office, after several years in Miami – but also means they will not have their income topped up with Royal maintenance funds or payments for public engagements as they have done in the past.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com