Princess Irene of Greece, the younger sister of Queen Sofia, passed away this Thursday in Madrid at the age of 83, as confirmed by royal household sources to the EFE news agency. The princess had been suffering from cognitive decline for some time, and Sofia had been by her side in recent months. With Irene's death, Queen Sofia is left without any siblings, as she also lost Constantine, the last king of Greece until his title was abolished in 1973, in 2023. The two sisters had a very close relationship, and Princess Irene of Greece was a significant presence in the life of the Spanish royal family.

These are months of important events that will shape Infanta Sofía's future. In two weeks, she will come of age, a month later she will graduate from UWC Atlantic College—an international baccalaureate school located in South Wales—and shortly after that, she will have to decide how she wants to direct her academic life starting in September. Until now, Felipe and Letizia's two daughters have followed a similar academic path: attending the same schools and completing the same bachelor's degrees. But now, everything suggests that for the first time, their paths will begin to diverge.