Spanish Oddities
Spain's Queen Sofía celebrates her 71st birthday
By h.b. - Nov 3, 2009 - 6:54 AM
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King Juan Carlos raises his glass on Monday night - EFE
She spent the day quietly with family
King Juan Carlos went off script at a gala dinner on Monday night for members of the Cervantes Institute calling for a toast to the queen on her 71st birthday.
Queen Sofía was not present, preferring to celebrate the occasion with the family in private, but the King lifted his glass at the event in the Pardo Palace, and wished his wife ‘all the happiness in the world’. The guests then broke into a rendition of ‘cumpleaños feliz’.
This year’s birthday for Queen Sofía this year has been more discrete than for her 70th last year. That was marked by the publication of the controversial biography of her, ‘La Reina muy de cerca’, by Pilar Urbano.