Queen Letizia of Spain’s ex brother-in-law stands by his astonishing claims they had an ‘affair’ – before he married the royal’s sister who went on to have a baby with Sharon Corr’s ex

The ex-husband of Queen Letizia’s sister has stood by his astonishing claims he had a romance with the Spanish royal.

Jaime Del Burgo, 53, who is currently based in the UK, contributed to a tell-all book last month about King Felipe’s wife, in which he said he and Letizia were partners before he married her younger sibling Telma Ortiz. 

He also makes the far-fetched claim that he was still romantically involved with the royal after Letizia’s 2004 wedding to Felipe.

A spokesperson for the Spanish Royal Family told FEMAIL: ‘We have no comment to make about this.’ 

In his first tweet since the scandal broke, del Burgo, who claims he was dating Letizia, 51, when she met Felipe, insisted: ‘I don’t change a comma of my deleted posts.

‘I appreciate the messages from those who have understood that I would have my reasons. I hold no grudge against those who have threatened to kill me. I don’t feel proud. But the truth is what it is. 

‘I recognize only one King in Heaven and his name is Jesus of Nazareth. He will judge me.’

The message, posted in Spanish and English, was the only one on his X, formerly known as Twitter, account today – but over the weekend, the entrepreneur shared an undated selfie Letizia took in a bathroom mirror during one of her pregnancies as ‘evidence’ of their relationship.

In the selfie, the royal can be seen wearing a black pashmina – which Jaime claims belonged to him – and he also typed out a message in his social media post, supposedly sent to him by the Spanish Queen. 

It read: ‘Love. I wear your pashmina. It’s like feeling you by my side. It takes care of me. It protects me. I count the hours until we see each other again. Love you. Get out of here. Yours,’ 

Spanish media have reported other messages he supposedly posted on X, which the entrepreneur is understood to have removed shortly after publishing them, pointed to them having a secret affair after Letizia married Felipe. 

After sharing the selfie, other X users questioned the validity of Jaime’s claims – given there is no evidence that Letizia sent him the photo or accompanying message.

Del Burgo’s tweet, and the others alluded to by some Spanish media, followed the publication of a bombshell book by veteran journalist and author Jaime Penafiel called ‘Letizia y Yo’, English for ‘Letizia and I’.

Father-of-two Del Burgo, who divorced Telma Ortiz by mutual consent in 2016 four years after they married and two years after they split up, claimed in the book he was carrying an engagement ring in his pocket during a meeting at Madrid’s Ritz Hotel with his ‘then-girlfriend’ Letizia in 2002 when she told him she had fallen in love with the future King of Spain.

He alleged he became friends with Felipe after they met and was asked by Letizia to be a witness at their May 22 2004 wedding.

Jaime also makes the incredible claim that the Queen asked to see him the night before the wedding at the exclusive El Latigazo restaurant in Madrid – where she asked him to ‘never leave’ her.

He said in quotes Jaime Penafiel said he had obtained via emails and phone calls with del Burgo: ‘When we met, she took hold of my hand and asked me why I had never asked her to marry me. Obviously I didn’t reply. 

‘I encouraged her as best I could. The last thing she said to me before we said goodbye to each other in that restaurant was a request: “Never leave me.””

The businessman – who is the son of the former politician Jaime Ignacio del Burgo – claimed their romantic relationship was forged in Venice and pre-dated the year 2000.

He also recalled a moment he says occurred following Princess Leonor’s birth when they were lying together in a hammock by a pool, saying in the book which was released last month: ‘Letizia told me “I love you” and I responded “I love you”.’

Telma is now with Irish lawyer Gavin Bonnar and the couple welcomed their first child together in October 2021. Gavin shares two children with his first wife musician Sharon Corr.

In her recent album The Fool & The Scorpion, Sharon wrote lyrics which included ‘the queen’s twisted sister’ – which fans speculated were inspired by her children’s new step-mother.

Speaking to El Cierre Digitial, the Letizia and I author, 91, said Letizia was del Burgo’s ‘great love’ and the pair’s relationship turned into a ‘great friendship’ after she became romantically involved with Felipe.

What’s more, the royal’s ex-brother-in-law also made the far-fetched claim that he ‘dealt’ with Letizia’s pre-nuptial agreement and helped to front the cost of the Queen’s family’s wedding outfits.

He is quoted as saying: ‘When the wedding with Felipe came round, I dealt with the pre-nuptial agreement as you know, amongst other things.

‘I also had to pay Letizia’s family’s expenses because [former King] Juan Carlos refused to pay or even go halves with me. So with the help of my friend Felipe Varela, I dressed her mum, grandmother and her sisters. And with the help of Jaime Jason, her father, grandparents and a cousin.’ 

In the book, Letizia’s alleged ex-lover describes Felipe as a ‘kind-hearted man’ and even goes on to say that he had a ‘great friendship’ with the royal.  He told the author: ‘I told him my problems and he told [me] his.’

The businessman even claims that Felipe ‘uses [him] as a good man because he felt incapable of calming [Letizia] down’ on occasions.  

Following the wedding, Del Burgo described how Letizia was like a ‘fox in a chicken coop’ as she was ‘cleverer than any of them’. 

Del Burgo- who says the Queen nicknamed him her ‘yogi pal’ – claims he still had a romantic relationship with Letizia even after the wedding in 2004. He also claims he has kept ‘photographs, videos, mobile phones’ and text messages as evidence.

The businessman claimed that ‘love was always there’ in their relationship since they travelled to Venice together. The selfie Del Burgo shared on Twitter was taken during one of Letizia’s pregnancies between 2005-2007. 

Following this, Jaime alleges they ‘took steps forward with the goal of being free’ – which involved seeking legal advice and looking at properties in the US. 

One of the most damaging claims Del Burgo reportedly makes is that Queen Letizia suggested they have a child together using a surrogate in Los Angeles.

Around this time, Del Burgo claims that he confronted Letizia after photos of her kissing Felipe appeared on the covers of Spanish magazines. He claims the Queen told him: ‘I had to do it to protect us.’ 

Jaime Penafiel goes on to write that when Sofia was born, Jaime del Burgo became uncle to both of the girls.

It then quotes him as saying: ‘It was a beautiful period. I didn’t have children, and those girls made me so happy. I was working in Brazil and suffered a pulmonary embolism.

‘I was in intensive care for a fortnight. I managed to get the Albert Einstein Hospital to give me a telephone Letizia and I spoke to each other every day on [the phone].

‘During my visits to Madrid I would often go to the cinema with Felipe, Letizia and some friends. Letizia and I would always sit together, holding hands. They were moments of happiness.’

However in August 2011, Jaime alleges Letizia abruptly ended their relationship when she called him and said: ‘We can’t continue seeing each other.’

Following this, Del Burgo alleges that a female friend told him to get in touch with Telma – who he had met when he first started dating Letizia.

The following year, the pair got engaged after just two months of dating. The Queen’s sister already had her daughter Amanda from her relationship with ex-partner Enrique Martin Llop. 

In 2012, the pair relocated to New York to start their married life – but Telma returned to Barcelona the same year before announcing their permanent separation.

Letizia and Telma tragically lost their younger sister Erika in February 2007 when she passed away following a deliberate drug overdose.  Queen Letizia’s younger sister was only 31 years old and left behind her six-year-old daughter Carla. 

At the time, the Spanish royal was six months pregnant with her second daughter – Princess Sofia. 

Letizia studied her Masters in broadcast journalism and after a stint at Asturian daily paper, La Nueva España, she went on to work for ABC, a popular national newspaper that enjoys the third largest circulation in Spain. 

Next came a stint at Spanish news agency EFE before a move to Guadalajara in Mexico saw her take on a role on local paper, Siglo 21.

Back in Spain a year later, she worked for the Spanish version of Bloomberg, a news channel and agency specialising in economics, before moving to CNN+.

Before she met Felipe of Spain, Letizia was married to high school literature teacher Alonso Guerrero Perez, who was nine years her senior.

The couple wed in 1998 following a ten-year romance, with the pair meeting when the future Spanish queen was just 16.

They tied the knot in a civil ceremony in the town of Almendralejo, Badajoz, but divorced the following year.

By the time she met her husband-to-be, Felipe, in 2002, Letizia was working for popular TV channel 24 Horas, where along with anchoring the popular Telediario 2 evening news bulletin she reported on a wide range of breaking news event.

As a news anchor, she reported live from Ground Zero after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

She met Prince Felipe the following year – at the site of an oil spillage in Northern Spain. The year after first meeting Felipe, Letizia quit her job and a few days later their engagement was announced.

Letizia and Felipe’s marriage in Madrid in 2004 prompted an upswing in support for the royal family, and her habit of championing High Street brands like Zara proved popular. She and Felipe had two daughters, Leonor in 2005 and Sofia in 2007.