In the midst of wall-to-wall coronavirus discussion at the Spanish government's post-cabinet meeting conference this Tuesday, the issue of the Spanish royal family was given a small amount of time. Prime minister Pedro Sánchez gave his support to king Felipe VI in his decision, announced on Sunday, to forego the inheritance of his father Juan Carlos I and to withdraw the royal stipend the former monarch currently receives.
Sánchez spoke of the move in the context of "transparency" and "exemplariness". Tomorrow it will be Felipe himself who speaks, in a speech on Spanish television, but the subject will not be the Crown's crisis, but rather the coronavirus crisis.
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The head of the Spanish executive said on Tuesday that "in the view of myself and my government, I can only support this decision taken by Felipe VI".
The PM added: "Not only do I support this, but I believe it is necessary and consistent with the actions which Felipe VI has promoted during his reign aimed at transparency and exemplarity."
The king's actions followed within hours after UK newspaper The Telegraph revealed that his father's 100 million dollar fortune, originating in a "gift" from the Saudi royal house, was to be part of Felipe's inheritance.
Having broken with his father, the Spanish king will also break the current royal silence on the coronavirus issue in Wednesday night, when he delivers a speech to his Spanish subjects on television at 9pm.