Monarchy is all about tradition. For the Spanish monarchy that means the king's Christmas speech, attending ceremonies like the Princess of Girona awards, and the whole family decamping to Mallorca for the summer. And this year is no exception. Last year, king Felipe, queen Letizia and their girls had gone to their official summer residence on the island, the L'Almudaina Palace, but presumably the idea of innovation hadn't sat too well with them because this year they've returned to the Marivent Palace, barely 5km (3 miles) away across the city of Palma de Mallorca. The Bourbons are conservatives (in all senses), so best to leave things as they are and schedule the photo op:
EFE
The name of the palace, Marivent, comes from the Catalan mar i vent, literally "sea and wind". It's an interesting choice for where to recuperate from a year which hasn't always been smooth sailing. They've faced numerous unofficial polls on the abolition of the institution, ongoing rumours of "allegedly irregular or criminal activities carried out by people linked to the royal family" and the odd unfortunate blunder.
Not that any of that shows in the staged photos of course. Here are a couple from 12 months ago for anyone who wants to compare outfits or see how Leonor (now 13) and Sofía (12) are growing.
EFE