King Felipe of Spain returned from his short private trip with a small unexpected consequence.
The father of Princess Leonor, he reappeared this Monday with obvious signs of sunburn on his face after spending the weekend skiing in Formigal, in the Aragonese Pyrenees.
King Felipe’s sunburns
The monarch resumed his official agenda by attending the inauguration of the fifth edition of the Spanish economic forum Wake Up, Spain! held at the Casa de America in Madrid.
However, what really caught the eye was his visibly reddened face.
The burn was concentrated in the areas not covered by ski goggles: the lower part of the nose, cheeks and mouth.
Far from ignoring the issue, Felipe VI himself made reference to his appearance during his speech.
“This is what happens when you don’t protect yourself properly,” he commented humorously.
Prolonged exposure to the sun in the snow is a risk well known to dermatologists, who insist on the importance of applying sunscreen with a high sun protection factor before going out and reapplying it every two hours.
In addition, the reflection of light on the snow intensifies the radiation, which explains why the monarch ended up with an affected face after his escape.
Skiing is one of King Felipe VI’s great passions, a hobby that he practices frequently and that, in recent years, he usually enjoys without the company of his wife, Queen Letizia, since she does not share the same enthusiasm for this sport.
On this occasion, Felipe VI decided to take advantage of the weekend in Formigal. Although there were strong gusts of wind on Saturday, on Sunday the skies cleared and the sun shone brightly, creating the perfect conditions for skiing.
However, those same conditions caused the monarch to return to Madrid with a sun-scorched face.