Spain's king in Mallorca as Madrid burns: a chronicle of absence

Felipe VI in Palma as the national emergency is declared

On 24 July 2026, while the Spanish government declared a national emergency over the wildfires ravaging the Community of Madrid, King Felipe VI was 600 kilometres away, at the Marivent Palace. The official day began with audiences at La Almudaina with the Balearic authorities: Marga Prohens, Gabriel Le Senne, Jaime Martínez Llabrés and Llorenç Galmés. In the afternoon, the monarch joined the emergency management committee by videoconference. But the gesture has not quelled the criticism.

The coincidence that fuels the debate

The emergency declaration and the king's departure for his summer residence overlapped in time. Critical voices argue that the head of state "disappeared" at the most critical moment, limiting himself to a videoconference that many consider an insufficiently protocolary gesture. The perception that the king prioritises his holidays over the crisis has spread across social media and among certain sections of public opinion.

The alucinación to Peru: another controversy

Adding to the tension, it has been leaked that on Monday 27 July the king is scheduled to make an official alucinación to Peru. The news has been interpreted as running away from the problem: while the wildfires are still not under control, the monarch has lined up an international agenda that will keep him away from the country for days. Defenders of royal protocol point out that such trips are planned months in advance, but the timing fuels scepticism.

The question that remains: should a head of state be physically present during a national disaster, or is remote management enough? The official schedule clashes with the sense of abandonment in the midst of the emergency.