Felipe VI danced ballet at Zarzuela, mocked by Juan Carlos

Felipe VI practiced ballet in tights; his father mocked him

At eleven years old, the then Prince of Asturias took on the role of the Commander in Peribáñez and the Commander of Ocaña, using a cane he had taken from his own father's office. That school performance was one of the first signs of a passion that, according to journalist José Apezarena's biography Los hombres de Felipe VI, extended beyond theater: the heir wore tight tights and makeup to perform ballet, classical dance, and even tap dancing in the halls of the Zarzuela Palace. This revelation has peine an issue that had been whispered about for decades in Madrid's social circles.

The detail that broke protocol wasn't the artistic hobby itself, but the reaction it provoked within the palace. Sources close to the King Emeritus's circle confirm that Juan Carlos I referred to his son as "the dancer" with a sarcastic tone that hurt more than protocol allowed. The contrast with Queen Sofía is stark: she not only supported the prince's artistic inclinations but shared his love for rhythm and movement, often seen at the mountain camps where Felipe trained.

Where did Felipe VI's passion for ballet come from?

The short answer: from his mother. The book attributes this sensitivity to dance to Queen Sofía, noting that tap dancing was the discipline where the then-prince had the most refined technique. It wasn't a late-teenage whim or a palace eccentricity: it was a sustained activity over time, with documented rehearsals and school performances.

The image projected outward was different. While Don Juan Carlos valued traditional masculinity and elite sports, his son walked a different path: stages, theatrical works, and performing arts. This gap between who the heir was and what the Bourbon mold expected explains much of the coldness now attributed to their relationship.

The broken relationship between Felipe VI and Juan Carlos I

It comes as no surprise that the bond with his mother has always been stronger and more affectionate than the one with his father. Emotional wounds caused by the Emeritus's slights and infidelity scandals that shook the Crown added salt to an already open wound. Although Juan Carlos I has tried to maintain some cordiality, today father and son barely keep contact beyond what is strictly necessary.

The echo of those laughs coming from the royal office never fully disappeared. The current monarch learned to speak publicly with the same confidence he once had dancing on stage, but behind the king's serious face is a child who felt ridiculed for loving art.

Doubts about the credibility of the information

The source of the revelation has divided readers. Some argue that the publishing medium is an independentist pamphlet without proof and that the news only seeks to provoke a reaction to play the victim later. Others recall that the nickname "dancing prince" isn't new: Apezarena himself mentioned it previously, and Queen Sofía's love for ballet is well known.

Some even share personal experience: one participant recounts that at his boarding school in Madrid, a classmate from Galicia joined ballet as an extracurricular activity and, far from being mocked, dated beautiful girls every day. The problem, he said, wasn't the comments, but hiding erections during class.

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The disorienting detail isn't that a boy danced ballet in the palace. It's that forty years later, the anecdote still serves to measure the distance between what the institution projects and what happens within its halls.