Two years after Spain's World Cup victory, mini football fans Sofia and Leonor once again helped welcome the victorious national team back to the royal palace.Proudly wearing team shirts with their names printed on the back, the little princesses inspected the Euro 2012 trophy under the watchful eye of their grandfather King Juan Carlos.
Also there to greet the players were the little girl's parents Princess Letizia – wearing a red dress – and Crown Prince Felipe, who cheered them on to victory in the final in Kiev on Sunday.
The Infanta Elena was spotted chatting animatedly to the sportsmen, including goal scorers David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata. Queen Sofia was unable to attend, since she was on an official trip to the Philippines. But the football-loving royal – who visited the team in their changing room after their triumph in the World Cup – sent a congratulatory telegram to coach Vicente Del Bosque after their 4-0 victory against Italy. The reception was the first chance for the king to congratulate the players.
"You have brought us great joy, and we are so proud of you," he told them. "You've demonstrated that with hard work, it's possible to achieve great results." After posing for photos with the royal family the team boarded an open top bus to ride through Madrid's historic centre. They waved flags and saluted the hundreds of thousands of well-wishers turned who turned out out to cheer the football heroes during the victory parade, which tuned into a huge fiesta, going on till the early hours of the morning.
