Queen Letizia of Spain has stepped out with King Felipe following claims in a bombshell royal book that he was left “crushed and destroyed” by her alleged “infidelities”.
The couple put on brave faces as they attended a board meeting at a Madrid museum today following months of cheating allegations that have gripped Spain.
The Queen, 51, has been embroiled in an infidelity scandal involving her ex brother-in-law with the allegations surfacing in January, when royal journalist Jamie Peñafiel, 91, published them in his book ‘Letizia & I’.
The best-seller alleged that the Queen had an affair with her sister’s former husband, Jamie del Burgo.
The Spanish royal household declined to comment on the accusations and reviews of his work label as “one of Letizia’s biggest enemies” who is “determined to end the Queen’s career”.
It claimed the pair had dated prior to her marriage to the King in 2004, but had continued to see each other during their marriage.
Del Burgo claims the relationship was ended by Letizia over the phone in 2011 and he then went on to marry her sister, Telma, in 2012.
His marriage with Selma was short lived and they announced their separation in 2014.
Peñafiel wrote in his first book that Felipe was “aware that Letizia was cheating on him in real time” as her bodyguards would be obliged to report her whereabouts.
Peñafiel was sacked by the Spanish newspaper he had worked at for 20 years after the title’s publication, but did not let that deter him.
He went on to write another book, called ‘Letitia’s Silences’, which makes further swipes at the monarch’s personal life.
In it, he claims Felipe was left “crushed and destroyed” by his wife’s alleged cheating, adding that he has been “plunged into hell” by his wife’s supposed ‘betrayal’ and “wants to get out”.
The author also calls Letizia “cold, emotionally immature and passive aggressive”.
He goes on to claim the Spanish royal family “hate” Letizia.
The book delves into the couple’s early relationship before concluding they are now living separate lives and “just keeping up appearances in public”.
It makes a sensationalist claim that del Burgo was planning to propose to Letizia on the night she revealed she was dating a high profile man from Spain whom she would have to end her career as a newsreader for.
The entrepreneur also made the unsubstantiated claim that he met Letizia the night before her wedding where she asked him to “never leave” her.
After her marriage to the King in 2004, it is alleged they continued to have a romantic relationship and that she even suggested they have a child via surrogate together.
Despite the publication of the second book this week, Felipe and Letizia put on a united front with patrons of The Gallery Of The Royal Collections in Madrid on Thursday.
It comes after they released family portraits with their two daughters, Princesses Leonor and Sofia last week to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary.