Spanish royals set sail for some sporting fun

Competitors in the appropriately-named King's Cup yacht race had a royal audience over the weekend, as three generations of the Spanish monarchy turned out to see them strut their stuff. Under the watchful eye of their grandmother Queen Sofia, six-year-old Juan and his little brother Pablo, five, watched all the action from the deck of the yacht Somni.

07 Aug 2005, 23:00 BST

a href="#enviar" name="enviar" onClick="MM_openBrWindow('/send_news/send_noticia_formulario.php?url=/royalty/2005/08/08/spanishroyals/index.html&canal=','','width=300,height=320')">Somni. Their father Iñaki Urdangarin was also enjoying the sunshine off the coast of Mallorca, though he had his hands full looking after third son Miguel. Cristina meanwhile took the opportunity to indulge her own favourite hobby by joining the crew of the Azur de Puig for a day of competition.

With temperatures soaring on Sunday afternoon, she and her husband had opted not to bring little Irene, who was born in Barcelona just two months ago, on the outing. The newest member of their growing brood has already had the opportunity to find her sea legs, though, because she accompanied her family on board the Fortuna just last Friday.

Notable by his absence was King Juan Carlos, who had been planning to join in the fun. The monarch had to make a last minute change of plans after King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, with whom he enjoyed a long friendship, passed away. Despite his passion for the annual regatta, the sovereign jetted out to Riyadh so he could offer the sovereign's family his sympathies in person.