A recent book by veteran royal journalist Jaime Peñafiel has alleged that Queen Letizia of Spain had an affair with her ex-brother-in-law, Jaime del Burgo, while married to King Felipe. The book, titled “Letizia’s Silences,” follows Peñafiel’s earlier controversial publication “Letizia & I,” which also addressed the alleged affair.

According to Peñafiel, Letizia and del Burgo, who dated before her marriage to Felipe in 2004, continued their relationship illicitly. The relationship purportedly ended in 2011 over the phone, shortly before del Burgo married Letizia’s sister, Telma, a marriage which ended in 2014.

Peñafiel claims that King Felipe, aware of the affair in real-time as reported by Queen Letizia’s bodyguards, has been deeply affected by these allegations. He describes Felipe as “crushed and destroyed” by his wife’s alleged infidelity and suggests that the couple is merely maintaining public appearances while living separate lives.

Despite these allegations, the Spanish royal household has not commented. Queen Letizia and King Felipe presented a united front at a recent event in Madrid, attended in light of their 20th wedding anniversary.