10 MAY 2005

With the people of Spain thrilled by the news their future queen is to become a mother, Crown Princess Letizia and her husband Felipe have been receiving a rapturous welcome on a trip to the Balearics.

The couple, who announced their happy news on Sunday, were greeted by large crowds of excited well-wishers when they arrived in the Majorcan capital of Palma. A 19-gun salute rang out over the Mediterranean as the royal visitors were welcomed to the island by local officials and dignitaries.

Letizia, who is three months along, was looking radiant in a pink jacket and unusual silk skirt. Asked how things were going so far, the former newsreader confessed that it hadn't all been plain sailing. "I have the usual discomforts that any pregnant woman gets, " she explained.

Her statuesque prince could barely contain his joy. "We can't hide the happiness we feel about our first child," he told reporters. And when one local journalist asked whether he and his wife were hoping for a boy or a girl, the crown prince insisted it made no difference whatsoever. "It doesn't matter," he affirmed. "We're going to love it just as much either way."

Inevitably, the pair were also queried about their views on rumoured changes to the Spain's male-dominated rules of accession in order to make the eldest child first in line regardless of their sex. Felipe didn't seem too worried about the issue, though, pointing out that a few years would have to pass before it became a pressing concern. "There's another generation in between so there's plenty of time," the future king reminded the curious.

The royal couple sit down to an official lunch hosted by Majorca's president. "We can't hide the happiness we feel about our first child," said the future king

Felipe and Letizia stop to have their picture taken with a local boy in Palma

The crown prince, who is already an affectionate uncle to five nieces and nephews, makes no secret of his feelings as he smiles down at his petite wife

Mum-to-be Letizia embraces the youngster who had his picture taken with the popular couple