A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties that formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities, or a surrender, in which one party agrees to give up weapons, or a ceasefire or truce, in which the parties can agree to temporarily or permanently leave the fight. Generally, these types of pacts are sealed in neutral places, where everyone involved feels equal. The Allies and the German Empire chose a train car to end the fighting in World War I. The King's family, divided for a decade by the Nóos case of Infanta Cristina and the legal cases of King Juan Carlos, has chosen the Pabú restaurant in Madrid, specialized in micro-seasonal cuisine, to celebrate Doña Elena's sixtieth birthday and, in the process, stage peace.
The Royal Family has the Zarzuela complex for their private meetings: the palace itself, where Queen Sofia has her residence (Juan Carlos I has lived in Abu Dhabi since 2020) and where Felipe VI's office is located, and a second building , the so-called Prince's Pavilion, where the current monarch and his wife, Queen Letizia, live, a house of about 1,800 useful square meters. But peace should never be made in private, but in public. On Wednesday, photographers and television cameras were able to capture every detail of the arrival and departure of the Bourbons from the restaurant of chef Coco Montes, a disciple of Alain Passard, in the Madrid district of Chamartín, near the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
Infanta Elena, the birthday girl, separated from the Royal Family and without an official role by order of her brother since 2014, arrived alone at the establishment. Her children, Victoria and Felipe, did it together. Infanta Cristina, also separated from the Royal Family since 2014 and without the title of Duchess of Palma since 2015 due to her involvement in the Nóos case, arrived with his mother, Queen Sofia. Her children entered the restaurant with Princesses Irene and Alexia of Greece. Juan Carlos I, without personal assignment since 2020 and with tax residence in the capital of the United Arab Emirates since 2023, arrived arm in arm with his faithful squire, Vicente García-Mochales, lieutenant colonel of the Civil Guard and head of security for the emeritus . Kings Felipe and Letizia entered and left alone. “How are you? Could he have been with his father? ”The journalists asked the Monarch, who did not answer the question. Everyone smiled, but no one said anything.
At the end of lunch, the king emeritus left Pabú alone. Behind him was Infanta Elena. Together they starred in the most talked-about scene of the meeting, a coordinated greeting that has gone viral on social networks: a kiss on each cheek, protocol and de rigueur genuflection, crossing the forehead, playing with hands and a “clash of hands.” bros”. Users of X (formerly Twitter) have considered all kinds of hypotheses. “They are Freemasons,” some claimed, referring to the gestures that members of Freemasonry use to recognize themselves in public spaces. “They are members of the Magi, the Stonemasons,” others said in a joking tone, remembering the fictional secret lodge that Homer Simpson enters in the sixth season of the animated series. The Simpson. And then, endless jokes. “What nonsense.” “The Bronxbones.” “The Fresh Princes of Bel Air.” “I had the same greeting with my friend heavy of ESO”. “Almost like Lebron and Kyrie.”
The greeting between Infanta Elena and the king emeritus seems to have surprised everyone, except the nobility of Spain. “The kiss on her cheek is a sign of familiarity and her genuflection is dictated by protocol. They always do it. Crossing the forehead is an old Spanish custom. And the game or high five is a fun gesture of complicity between them. “I don't understand what all the fuss is about,” complains an aristocrat in conversation with EL PAÍS. “The thing with the hands is strange and I don't know. But I see a lot of choreography,” says another noblewoman. “It reminds me of the sign of the cross on the forehead that my mother made for us, born into a very Catholic family in the 1920s. She made it for us when she was very excited or something important or special was being celebrated in the family,” says a lady who knows the Bourbons well. “That must be it. Although Spain is something very old, very stale,” acknowledges the same source. And she adds: “Queen Sofia would never do it because she was raised Orthodox, although she officially became her honeymoon.”
Marina Fernández, director of Communication at the International School of Protocol, has her own theory. “It is a private gesture between father and daughter that wants to highlight the excellent relationship they have. Elena often travels to Abu Dhabi and the king has traveled to Madrid for his daughter's birthday. “Both wanted to show their good relationship with this peculiar gesture that only they understand,” Fernández explains to EL PAÍS. “I think it is something thought out, rehearsed, a communication strategy to tell all the rest of us that they get along very well and that she supports her father,” she concludes. It seems that peace reigns in the palace, although it also seems that there are still sides.
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