EP The 'other Royal Family': Simoneta Gómez-Acebo's children take over the media power
This is what Felipe VI's three second cousins are like: Luis Juan, a music lover; María, an art expert; and Pablo, an engineer
Last Monday, the Palacio de Cibeles in Madrid hosted the second edition of the Laureus Awards. On the red carpet of the Crystal Gallery of the Madrid palace, faces like the former tennis player Rafael Nadal paraded. Also, figures linked to the Spanish royalty such as Simoneta Gómez-Acebo (Madrid, 1968) and her eldest son Pablo Fernández Sastrón Gómez Acebo (Madrid, 1995).
The presence of the grandson of Infanta Pilar de Borbón caused great expectation since his public appearances are rare, and he keeps a low media profile like his siblings Luis Juan (Madrid, 1991) and María de las Mercedes (Madrid, 2000). But, what is his story?
The family history of Luis Juan, Pablo, and María de las Mercedes Fernández Sastrón
On September 12, 1990, Simoneta Gómez-Acebo, the eldest daughter of the Dukes of Badajoz, Infanta Pilar de Borbón and Luis Gómez-Acebo, married the composer and former president of SGAE José Miguel Fernández Sastrón. The wedding was held at the Palma de Mallorca Cathedral in front of 800 guests.
A year after the wedding, in February 1991, the magazine ¡Hola!announced on the cover Simoneta Gómez-Acebo's first pregnancy. The news came at a bitter time for the family as the Duke of Badajoz continued to fight against lymphatic cancer, which had been diagnosed in 1984 and for which he passed away in March of that year.
Luis Gómez Acebo did not see the birth of Luis Juan Fernández Sastrón, the first child of Simoneta Gómez-Acebo and José Miguel Fernández Sastrón. The young man was born on September 23, 1991, at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid.
The arrival of Luis Juan filled the Gómez Acebo and Borbón family with joy. The little one became the first great-nephew of Juan Carlos I. Luis Juan received the names of his grandfather, the Count of Badajoz, and his great-grandfather, the Count of Barcelona.
Four years after the arrival of Luis Juan, Pablo Fernández Sastrón Gómez-Acebo was born. The middle son of Simoneta Gómez-Acebo came into the world on May 4, 1995, in Madrid. The birth occurred two months after the wedding of Infanta Elena. A circumstance for which the eldest daughter of Infanta Pilar attended the wedding in an advanced state of pregnancy.
On January 17, 2000, the marriage expanded the family with the arrival of the youngest. A girl named María de las Mercedes, in honor of her maternal great-grandmother, the Countess of Barcelona. The only little one of Simoneta is one of King Felipe VI's goddaughters.
An exquisite education and summers in Mallorca
The Fernández Sastrón Gómez-Acebo siblings were raised in the family home in the Puerta de Hierro neighborhood of Madrid. Regarding their educational career, Luis Juan and Pablo Fernández Sastrón attended some of the most prestigious institutions nationally and internationally.
Both have been students at Stonyhurst College (Lancashire, United Kingdom). An exclusive private Catholic school founded by the Jesuit order in 1953, where music plays a significant role.
Precisely this artistic discipline has been part of the Fernández Sastrón siblings since childhood, as their father has been in charge of compositions for films like Trileros. Also for series like Manolito Gafotas or ¿Se puede?
At the British school, the eldest grandson of Infanta Pilar wanted to explore his passion for music. A circumstance for which he began to play the electric guitar.
Another of the historical institutions where Luis Juan and Pablo Fernández Sastrón have been is the well-known Camp Watioh. It is a summer camp founded in 1937 located in the heart of the Berkshire Mountains at Center Lake (Massachusetts).
The branch to which Simoneta Gómez-Acebo's eldest son has oriented his future is unknown, unlike his brother Pablo. The young man studied a degree in Electromechanical Engineering at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas.
Meanwhile, María de las Mercedes Fernández Sastrón was educated at the Santa María del Camino school in Madrid and later went abroad to pursue a degree in Art, one of her great passions.
As family tradition dictates, every summer, the children of José Miguel Fernández Sastrón did not miss their appointment in Palma de Mallorca. There they gathered at La Buganvilla, a house located in the Sol Urbanization of the municipality of Calvià.
Infanta Pilar acquired this property after the demolition of her fisherman's house in Portopí in the 1990s.
According to Vanity Fair, it was Simoneta who acquired this property in 2021. The purchase took place a year after the death of Infanta Pilar in January 2020.
The greatest support of their parents
The death of Infanta Pilar was a severe blow to the Gómez-Acebo family. Luis Juan, Pablo, and María de las Mercedes supported their mother at the funeral mass held at the Almudena Cathedral (Madrid).
Four years later, the Fernández Sastrón Gómez-Acebo siblings reappeared publicly.
In March 2024, they accompanied the rest of the family at the funeral of their uncle Fernando Gómez-Acebo. Tragedy struck the saga in August of the previous year. Their uncle Juan Gómez-Acebo passed away at the age of 54 after battling a long illness.
The grandchildren of Infanta Pilar returned to the spotlight after attending the funeral mass of their uncle, which took place in September at the Castrense Cathedral in Madrid. It is said that the Fernández Sastrón siblings are very close to their mother, with whom they maintain a very special relationship, as well as with their father.
A very discreet life
Precisely because of this special bond, their parents' divorce would have impacted them greatly. A circumstance for which they returned to the media spotlight.
However, Luis Juan, Pablo, and María de las Mercedes avoid the media. Their public appearances have been few. Not even details of the debutante ball of Simoneta's youngest daughter were revealed, which took place in 2019 at La Escorzonera estate in Madrid. This was the venue where influencer Victoria Federica also held her debut in society in June of that same year.
However, little is known about the day-to-day life of the Fernández Sastrón Gómez-Acebo siblings. In Pablo's case, it only emerged that he had a romantic relationship with a psychologist named Victoria Aldama. Simoneta Gómez-Acebo's middle son is the only one of the siblings who has a presence on social media, although he keeps it private.
That's why their new public appearance at the Laureus Awards has attracted significant attention. An appearance that could mark a turning point in the media facet of the children of King Felipe VI's cousin.
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