Every year around this time, the members of the organization of the Princess of Asturias Foundation start to work wonders. The Campoamor Theater, venue for the awards ceremony, has 1,491 seats that on the day of the awards turn this charming art center in Oviedo into the place where part of society wants to be. There are fixed entries: state authorities, relatives of the award winners, mayors from the award winners’ places of origin, patrons of the Foundation… but then there is a series of spots that different people occupy each year, with the aim that the largest number of Asturians have the opportunity to attend, at least once in their lives, the Princess of Asturias Awards.
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Added to this demand for a seat in the Campoamor is something that happens in Oviedo and is almost exceptional: the Awards ceremony is one of the few events of the year that brings together the five members of the Royal Family in a public appearance. The King and Queen, their daughters, and Doña Sofía in the same space. That works and is popular with the public.
Aware of these two elements, a group of criminals is trying to profit financially from the awards through a highly professionalized scam that EL MUNDO has had exclusive access to.
Several people who have been present at previous Awards ceremonies have received a communication via WhatsApp and email outlining an “institutional hospitality/collaboration and representation proposal” to contribute money that would grant access to a supposed table at the awards ceremony near the Royal Family. This is a highly professionalized scam, as it does not target just any mobile phone, like other scams where you click a link in an SMS to a website that steals your data.
On this occasion, the victims received a WhatsApp message in the name of the Head of His Majesty the King’s Household, diplomat Camilo Villarino. The message states that Felipe VI “would like to make contact” with the sender, without offering many more details. The tone is polite and appropriate for the Head of the Household, but it is sent from a phone that is not Villarino’s, who, moreover, not many people have. The bait is already set and the first contact made, so many may believe that it is true that the King has a proposal. So, upon replying, they receive a second, longer response.
“I am sending you attached the table location proposal, as well as the modalities of charitable participation for the Princess of Asturias Awards 2026. Do not hesitate to send me your observations or preferences; I remain, naturally, at your entire disposal. Best regards, Camilo Villarino Marzo”. Attached to this email is a PDF headed by the logo of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, a document with the “hospitality proposal”.
The text uses the same institutional blue that the Foundation has used for its awards and the texts it sends for years. Furthermore, the data it offers for the awards ceremony coincides with the date set this year for them: Friday, October 23rd at 6:30 PM. “The Princess of Asturias Foundation presents an institutional hospitality and sponsorship proposal linked to one of the most relevant cultural and representative events in the Spanish calendar, conceived for entities and business families who wish to associate their name with a framework of excellence, thought, and international projection,” the pamphlet continues.
The second page is a kind of outline with the “categories of presence and hospitality” for those interested. There are four sections: “royal table, platinum, gold, and silver”. The first of these is of incalculable value; in fact, the scam does not set a price, as it is the table where the Royal Family would sit and offers those who choose it a “private prior reception” and “reserved protocol accompaniment”.
The “platinum” category, of “maximum distinction,” costs 1.8 million euros for whoever chooses it. This table, intended for “corporations and institutions with a will for leadership and maximum distinction”. Cheaper is the “gold” category, where guests ‘only’ have to pay 1.4 million euros to occupy a spot “designed for entities with high relational capacity who wish for a solid association with the ceremony”. Finally, in the “silver” category would sit those who want a “prestigious link” with the awards, but a more humble one, as it costs 920,000 euros and is aimed at “organizations seeking a careful presence in the awards environment”.
The document presents a seating arrangement chart for the Campoamor, where it illustratively explains where companies willing to pay the millions of euros requested to attend the Awards ceremony would sit.
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Some of those who have received this information have had doubts about its veracity, thinking that perhaps it was a new way to sponsor the institutional event and obtain funds. But it is a lie, and the contacts have been made through prepaid phones that are difficult to trace and track.
The Princess of Asturias Foundation is a private, non-profit entity, created in 1980 with the aim of promoting the scientific, cultural, humanistic, and international cooperation values that distinguish the Princess of Asturias Awards. Although it has the institutional backing of the Crown and its Honorary Board is chaired by the Princess of Asturias, the foundation is not part of the State structure nor does it depend on any public administration. Its activity is sustained through a collaboration model between the private and public sectors, in which the involvement of its patrons constitutes the main source of economic stability.
The patrons are companies, institutions, and entities that contribute to the foundation’s sustenance through periodic financial contributions, in addition to participating in its governing bodies and supporting the development of its activities. Alongside these private contributions, the foundation receives grants and aid from various public administrations, as well as income derived from agreements, sponsorships, and collaborations.
The weight of the patrons is, however, decisive in guaranteeing the institution’s independence and continuity, by providing a stable financial base that allows for the annual organization of the Princess of Asturias Awards and the set of cultural and educational initiatives promoted by the foundation. With an exquisite handling of transparency, on its website they explain that the budget approved by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for 2026 amounts to 7.7 million euros, with 89% of income being private and 11% from public subsidies.
“The Foundation’s net worth reached, as of December 31, 2025, the amount of 36.1 million euros. The Foundation’s income comes from donations from different personalities and institutions, members of its Boards of Trustees and Protecting Members; from the returns on its assets, and from public subsidies”.
But these donations, which translate into the annual fee paid by patrons for membership, are channeled through the Foundation; money is never requested to organize the Awards ceremony, which has long warned about fake profiles on social media where, in the name of Princess Leonor, money is requested. But until now, the scam attempt had not been so professionalized. “The Princess of Asturias Foundation warns that it does not have economic aid programs, project subsidies, raffles, or other monetary mechanisms, intended for private citizens”.
Award Winners
With three months to go until the awards ceremony, the Foundation is already working against the clock for the event, which translates into three days of intense activity with the Royal Family. Everything kicks off on Thursday, October 22nd, with a concert by the Principality Orchestra, followed by a dinner of the Royal Family with the award winners. On Friday morning, Leonor will bestow the decorations upon the award winners, and later that evening, she will present them with the awards at the Campoamor. Everything will conclude on Saturday with the visit to this edition’s exemplary town.
Patti Smith, Studio Ghibli, David Klenerman, Shankar Balasubramanian, Pascal Mayer, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Timothy Garton Ash, Leo Messi, Julian Barnes, and Christina Koch will be honored this year with Spain’s most prestigious award.