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King Felipe Queen Letizia attend Pilar de Borbon's funeral© Fernando Junco

Spanish royals attend the funeral of King Felipe’s aunt Doña Pilar de Borbón

Queen Letizia and King Felipe attended the funeral of Doña Pilar de Borbón, sister of former King of Spain Don Juan Carlos, who also was in attendance along with other members of the Spanish royal family


JANUARY 10, 2020 10:30 AM EST

 Queen Letizia  and  King Felipe  of Spain paid the last tribute to Doña Pilar de Borbón in Madrid on January 10. The sister of King Felipe’s dad, King Juan Carlos. sadly died at 83 on January 8 after a battle against colon cancer. Her funeral, celebrated in Madrid, took place in the most strict privacy following the wishes of the family. Other Spanish royals such as Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina as well as their parents King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía also attended the ceremony where Doña Pilar’s ashes were buried in the family’s pantheon. It was her wish to rest by her husband Luís Gomez-Acebo’s side.

Spanish Infantas Elena and Cristina attend doña Pilar de Borbon´s funeral© Fernando Junco
King Felipe’s sisters Infanta Elena and Cristina arrive to Doña Pilar’s funeral

Members of the government, as well as many other personalities of the Spanish society, have shown their condolences to the Gomez-Acebo de Borbón family. King Juan Carlos’ grandchildren Victoria Federica    Juan Urdangarín, Beatriz de Orleans and  Luis Alfonso de Borbón, as well as Queen Letizia and King Felipe, visited Infanta Pilar’s funeral chapel on the days before the final goodbye.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe at Doña Pilar's funeral chapel© GettyImages
Queen Letizia and King Felipe visited Doña Pilar’s funeral chapel on January 8

Pilar de Borbón was Juan de Borbón and Battenberg, Count of Barcelona, and María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans’ first daughter and elder sister of King Juan Carlos. Last year she was diagnosed with colon cancer and she had to undergo surgery as well as chemotherapy.