Members of Spain’s royal family gathered Saturday in Madrid for a special memorial service for Princess Irene of Greece, who died Thursday<\/a> at age 83. Spanish emeritus Queen Sofia<\/strong>, who earlier this month had canceled her royal engagements to care for<\/a> her ailing sister, was joined by son King Felipe<\/strong> and his wife, Queen Letizia<\/strong>, as well as their eldest daughter, Princess Leonor<\/strong> and her sister, Infanta Sof\u00eda<\/strong> of Spain.<\/p>\n The family came together at Madrid’s Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Andrew and St. Demetrius, at a prayer service also attended by relatives including Infanta Elena<\/strong>, Victoria Federica de Marichalar<\/strong>, Infanta Cristina<\/strong>, and Princess Alexia of Greece<\/strong>.<\/p>\n King Felipe and Queen Letizia<\/p>\n <\/span>Carlos Alvarez\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The Infanta Margarita<\/strong> and her husband, Carlos Zurita;<\/strong> Jaime de Marichalar;<\/strong> Kyril of Bulgaria<\/strong>; and Madrid mayor Jos\u00e9 Luis Mart\u00ednez-Almeida<\/strong> were also on hand for the memorial, which was held in advance of the official funeral for Princess Irene, planned for Monday in Athens.<\/p>\n Irene’s brother-in-law, emeritus King Juan Carlos,<\/strong> was not in attendance: According to El Pa\u00eds<\/em>, he decided yesterday not to make the trip from his some-time home<\/a> of Abu Dhabi on the advice of his doctors. He will also miss Monday’s funeral, his representatives say.<\/p>\n
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