Overview
- The royal household’s statement announced the death on Thursday, specifying the time as 11:40 a.m. at the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid.
- Queen Sofia canceled engagements to remain with her sister, and Spanish media report she was at Princess Irene’s side in her final moments.
- Recent reports described a progressive cognitive impairment and a very fragile condition in the days leading to her death.
- Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced, with further details expected from the family.
- Born in South Africa in 1942, she never married, lived for years at the Zarzuela complex, and was a trained concert pianist who studied under Gina Bachauer; she was last seen publicly in a wheelchair at her nephew Prince Nikolaos’s wedding in Athens, according to reports.