“My sister (Cristina) and I came to visit our father and, in order to obtain a health passport that would allow us to do it regularly, we were offered the possibility of being vaccinated, with which we agreed”, explained the sister oldest, Elena de Bourbon, in a statement published in various Spanish and confirming previous reports who realized that both had been inoculated with a Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
“If it weren’t for that circumstance, we would have waited for our turn to be vaccinated in Spain”, adds the text that aims to clarify a controversy that arises at a delicate moment for the Spanish Royal Family.
The vaccination of sisters Elena and Cristina, without following the protocol in force in Spain, occurred during a trip to visit the emeritus king, exiled in Abu Dhabi due to investigations in that Iberian country about the supposed origin of his fortune.
Prior to the official statement, a spokesman for Casa Real declined to comment on the France-Presse news agency, noting that the sisters “are not” part of the royal family and therefore their actions take place in the private sphere.
Spain reacts
“The vaccination of the sisters is another piece of news that contributes to the discredit of the monarchical institution. Citizens realize that there are treatments of favor and privileges”, criticized this Wednesday on public television TVE the Minister of Equality, Irene Montero, of the party Vamos .
Overtly republican, Vamos usually clashes with monarchy-related issues with its majority partner in the government, Pedro Sánchez’s socialists, defenders of the parliamentary monarchy in force in Spain.
The information sparked controversy in Spain a week after the revelation that Juan Carlos de Bourbon paid the Treasury to settle his situation more than $ 5 million in tax arrears for jet travel that had been paid for by a distant cousin’s foundation.
A family grappling with justice
The 83-year-old former head of state (1975-2014) has been in exile in Abu Dhabi since August, when suspicions about the hidden origin of his fortune increased. The emeritus king is the target of three investigations in total.
In addition, press reports came at a time when Spain provided, following a strict protocol that prioritizes the elderly and the most vulnerable, the two doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 to only 1.2 million of its 47 million inhabitants, mainly due to delays in delivery of doses.
A process that has not escaped controversy: the commander of the Defense Staff and the Secretary of Health for the territory of Ceuta resigned after being vaccinated outside the protocol, just two of several similar cases.
Due to their age, 57 and 55, the sisters should not have received the vaccine in Spain yet.
The two ceased to belong to the royal family in 2014, when their brother Felipe took the throne after the abdication of Juan Carlos I.
Cristina, whose husband Iñaki Urdangarin is currently serving a sentence of 5 years and 10 months in prison for corruption, has an official residence in Switzerland.
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