Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games© OLI SCARFF,OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

Queen Letizia and King Felipe keep dry in ponchos at Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

The Spanish royals cheered in the rain


JULY 26, 2024 3:37 PM EDT

The rain didn't stop King Felipe and Queen Letizia from cheering at the Olympics Opening Ceremony! The Spanish royals kept dry during the ceremony on Friday wearing matching clear ponchos.

Letizia arrived at the event in Paris wearing a chic Carolina Herrera dress, which she has previously stepped out in. Felipe was spotted helping his wife with the hood of her poncho during the ceremony. 

Queen Letizia at the opening ceremony in Paris© Europa Press Sports

Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia's parents were seen applauding and cheering at the announcement of the Spanish athletes from the stands, while braving the rain on July 26. Felipe is a former Olympian himself. His Majesty was a member of the Spanish Olympic Sailing team in the Soling class during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. During the opening ceremony that year, Felipe served as Spain's flag bearer in the Parade of the Nations. 

© LOIC VENANCE

On the eve of the 2024 opening ceremony, Felipe and Letizia attended a dinner at the Louvre in the French capital. The Spanish royal couple also attended a reception for members of the Spanish Olympic team on Thursday. In a speech at the reception, His Majesty said (translated to English): "It is truly an honour to be here, to share this day with you, to share with all the delegations tomorrow the great party, very original according to what we are told, of the opening of the Games, but above all to be able to accompany you in some of the competitions that we can, we are going to be distributed among members of the Family, the Queen and I, the Infanta, the Princess and Queen Sofia, so we will not possibly be in all of them, but in the greatest number of events possible during the two weeks of Games."

© OLI SCARFF

The King also reflected on his own experience as a competitor saying, "I was able to experience it once in Barcelona, and I certainly have very, very special memories of that, so some of you have already experienced it a few times, but it is certainly part of the experience and carrying the flag, carrying the symbol of our country to the top is undoubtedly a great joy and well, part of the goal."

"What I want is for you to live this experience in the best way possible, to enjoy it and enjoy the excitement of getting there, because the effort you have had to make to get there is already a success. So now enjoy it and do it as best as possible, because you know how to do it very well. And nothing else. We will have the opportunity to share a little time here and tomorrow at the opening and little by little we will see the different competitions," King Felipe continued. "Good luck to everyone now."