Changes in the structure of the Royal House continue. By For the first time, a woman will be in charge of the King’s general secretary and another will be a diplomatic advisor. These are two highly responsible positions that will mean that of the eleven positions of this type, four will belong to women. The new signings of the Head of State are Mercedes Araújo and Carmen Castillea.
© GTRESAraújo is the current Deputy Secretary General for Parliamentary Affairs of the Congress and at the beginning of December she will occupy the position of Secretary General of the King’s House, replacing Domingo MartÃnez Palomo, after decades of service. For her part, Carmen Castiella is the ambassador to Paraguay and will replace Alfonso Sanz Portolés as diplomatic advisor.
© GtresMercedes Araújo DÃaz de Terán joined the Corps of Lawyers of the Cortes Generales in 1995, holding successive positions of assistance and advice to the bodies of the Government of Congress in several legislatures. Between 2014 and 2024, she carried out the responsibilities of deputy general secretary for administrative affairs of the Lower House and now takes over from MartÃnez Palomo, 70 years old, appointed on June 27, 2014, although she had previously held other positions in Zarzuela. . Married with two children, he joined the Civil Guard in 1973 and after passing the selective course, he entered the General Military Academy a year later, being promoted to lieutenant of the Civil Guard in 1978. He has a degree in Law.
© House of HM the KingA profound renovation
It is the first time that a woman will be Zarzuela’s number two below the head of the Royal House, Camilo Villarino, who took office at the beginning of the year after the replacement of Jaime AlfonsÃn after more than three decades of service to Don Felipe.
© House of HM the KingCarmen Castiella Ruiz de Velasco has been a career diplomat since 1999 and has been assigned to different embassies and advisory positions in the Presidency of the Government and in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and until her appointment as ambassador in Paraguay she was director of Cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation. He will take over from Alfonso Sanz Portolés, who before joining the Royal Family was stationed in the embassies in Saudi Arabia and South Africa.
In this way, the female presence in the senior positions of the Head of State is intensified and of the ten senior officials, four are women. after the appointment of MarÃa Ocaña as secretary of Queen Letizia and the appointment of Ana Varela as auditor.