Good Lifestyle

Since mid -2025 it was confirmed that the health of the sister of the Emeritus Queen of Spain has deteriorated, the spirits in the Palacio de la Zarzuela have been low. According to several media, Queen Sofia has minimized her commitments to avoid getting out of her home and staying to her sister, Irene de Greece, affectionately known as Aunt Pecu. And the relationship between them goes beyond a simple consanguineous bond: they have been better friends and confidants during all their lives. This is what is known about this delicate situation.

Who is Irene?

Irene de Greece and Denmark is the younger sister of the Emeritus Queen of Spain, Sofia, and therefore aunt of King Felipe VI. The princess has had a life marked by trips and loves that did not prosper, but that is why it cannot be said that it has not been satisfactory. He was a professional piano concertist in his youth and, after the exile of his family in Greece, he went to live in India, where he was interested in Hindu culture and even studied the Vedas (Holy Books of Hinduism) and Buddhism. There he was until 1981, when his mother, Queen Federica, died. After this he moved to Madrid, Spain, and became the inseparable companion of his sister Sofia, who by then was the queen consort for her marriage to King Juan Carlos I.

A life for others

Queen Sofia's sister never married or had children, but dedicated her life to helping others. Apart from being the confidant, companion and “support of his sister, in 1986 he founded the non -profit organization world in harmony, whose work with social assistance projects in more than 30 countries has been recognized even by the United Nations Organization (UN). With this work, the princess had the habit of living eight months a year in Madrid together with Sofia, two months in India and the other two months in her native Greece. However, his health began diminishing in 2002, when he won a breast cancer. Little by little he went down the rhythm until in 2023 he made the decision to cease the operations of the Foundation.

Your current health

After leaving his philanthropic work, Irene began to appear less in public and this shot the alarms of the followers of royalty. It was in mid -2025 when it was confirmed that the princess suffers from Alzheimer's, a neurodegenerative disease, and since then it has not been seen in any commitment. According to the Spanish media specialized in royalty, Aunt Pecu "has a delicate state of health. He almost does not move or speak. Sometimes he does not recognize those who are by his side." The disease, apparently, has advanced so much that Irene needs medical staff 24 hours a day. In fact, it was learned that, in her moments of lucidity, the princess has declared that when she dies she wants to be buried with her brother, the late King Constantine II of Greece, in the cemetery of the Palace of Tatoi, on the outskirts of Athens.

Difficult moment for Sofia

All this, of course, has been a hard blow to Queen Sofia, because Irene has been her rock for more than four decades and has been by her in the most difficult moments, from the corruption scandals, the infidelities of King Juan Carlos I and until her abdication in 2014. The media claim that the palace staff has said that the queen has lost weight and suffers from a serious depression, which is aggravated by the disturbance her granddaughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, due to her differences with kings Felipe VI and Letizia. However, her daughters, the Infantas Elena and Cristina, turn to take care of her and it is known that Felipe I saw the visit on weekends. Meanwhile, it is said that Sofia has asked to move her bed to Irene's room because she wants to stay with her until her death.