Royal Palace Of Spain Releases List Of Presents Received By King Felipe And Queen Letizia

The Royal Palace of Spain has released a list of presents that King Felipe and his wife Queen Letizia received in 2015. Among the plethora of gifts there is a special one from Queen Rania of Jordan and King Abdullah, the royal couple’s close friends. They presented the Spanish royal couple with not one but two presents — a ceremonial sword and a saddle.

In order to increase transparency, the Spanish Royal household has revealed the list of presents from ornate crafted works to CDs, DVD box sets and football shirts. Felipe and Letizia have even revealed what their two daughters Princesses Sophia and Leonor got last year.

The total number of gifts is 326 items, which include nine ties, 63 books, raincoats, sweets and even a puzzle of Bo, the Obamas’ pet dog. The puzzle was gifted by none other than U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle. The game was meant for the young princesses Leonor and Sofia. Some of the quirky gifts include a complete “Game of Thrones” box set, sent from Pablo Iglesias, the secretary-general of political party Podemos.

Meanwhile, Queen Margrethe of Denmark also gave the 47-year-old Felipe commemorative coins to mark her 75th birthday and some hockey sticks. This apart, the presidents of Portugal, Peru and Honduras all gave 43-year-old stylish royal Letizia handbags. Besides, French president Francois Hollande gave the queen a handkerchief.

The most number of gifts were received by Felipe — total of 151. His wife Letizia got 80 presents, while the royal couple’s daughters Leonor and Sofia were presented with 16 gifts. Out of all these gifts, the two gifts that stand out are the ones presented by Rania and Abdullah of Jordan.

The royal couple of Jordan presented their Spanish counterparts a handmade leather saddle and ceremonial sword. Rania and Abdullah made an official of Spain, during which they had dinner at El Pardo Palace in Madrid in November. However, all the presents were low-key as Felipe introduced rules designed to prevent the royals from receiving extravagant gifts.

During his reign, Felipe’s father received expensive gifts including two Ferraris and a luxury yacht. However, his son’s reign has seen a concerted effort to clean-up the public image of the Spanish monarchy, which had been mired in controversy.