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By Humphrey Carter CROWN Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia will be spending part of their Easter holiday in Palma with the rest of the Spanish royal family. Spanish royal household sources confirmed yesterday that the heir to the throne and his wife will be joining the Spanish royals for a few days at Marivent Palace.


However, the royal household stressed that the royals are coming for a holiday and not an official visit, hence no dates or plans have been revealed.
This will be the Prince and Princess of Asturias' second holiday in Majorca since the royal wedding last May. The couple will be returning in April on their first official visit to the Balearics.

The April visit will probably coincide with the Princess Sofia sailing regatta in Palma and the royal tour will include each of the Balearic islands.
In fact, there is a hive of activity in the Porto Pi naval base and in marinas across the region as the nautical industry gets ready for the start of the season.

In Porto Pi, the royal yacht Fortuna is being prepared for the arrival of the royals and the security launches are also being given pre-season checks and services.

All of the royals are keen sailors. King Juan Carlos will be racing in the Copa del Rey later this summer as usual and Prince Felipe is expected to participate in either the Princess Sofia regatta or compete against his father in August.

What is more, with the Easter holidays officially under way now, the Spanish royals will be joined by a host of international personalities and celebrities in Majorca over the next few weeks. And with the weekend being a World Cup football qualifying one, do not be surprised if you end up rubbing shoulders with some Premier League players or even the odd manager.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones are known to pop up in Majorca during Easter and early Spring making full use of the estate he owns in Valldemossa. But all of the celebrity haunts, like Puerto Portals, will come alive again this weekend with everyone toasting goodbye to one of the worst winters in the past 50 years.

Many of the holiday resorts are open along with around 40 percent of Majorca's hotels. Travel industry bosses said yesterday that bookings for this Easter are on par with last year in the Balearics.