Maximilian of Habsburg: "Helping people with addiction is a beautiful thing."

Son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and Countess Helena zu Toerring-Jettenbachia , Maximilian of Habsburg landed in Spain more than 40 years ago to learn the language, however his love for our country was so strong that he decided to stay and put down roots.

The aristocrat experienced the drug crisis firsthand in the 1980s : "One of my sisters died from addiction. That affected me deeply and motivated me to found RECAL," he told ABC. For 23 years, this foundation has offered help to people with alcohol, drug, tobacco, gambling, nomophobia, and sex addictions: "Right now, there are 25 beds and about 50 patients who attend the day center," he explains. The clinic works with the Minnesota Program, "where the patient goes through twelve steps, starting with admitting they're an addict and then cleansing themselves of their past and all the wrong they've done to try to make amends. The final step is for the addict to try to help others recover in their sober life." In fact, "hundreds of people have passed through the foundation, and some of them have returned to work as counselors and even therapists. It's a very beautiful job ," he proudly acknowledges.

They also provide comprehensive support to families throughout the recovery process. "We see that when the family is involved, there's a 40 percent higher recovery rate," he says.

Last night, Maximiliano de Habsburgo held a charity dinner at the Madrid Golf Federation with the aim of raising funds "for our patients without financial means " and "presenting new projects," he says, referring to RECAL TA, a space dedicated to eating disorders: "It caught our attention that after the pandemic this problem increased by almost 30 percent and we thought something had to be done," he explains.

A dinner attended by around 300 guests, including Jaime de Marichalar , María Chávarri , Inés Domecq with her husband Javier Martínez de Irujo and her sister Sofía de Habsburgo , among many others.