King Felipe handed outgoing German Prime Minister Angela Merkel the Charles V European Award last week at the Yuste Monastery in western Spain.
The award is meant to honor service to Europe. It’s backed by the European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation.
The award is named after Charles V, who was king of Spain and Holy Roman emperor in the 1500s. He lived in the Yuste Monastery after his retirement.
King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofia presided over a military parade in Madrid last week for Spanish National Day or Dia de la Hispanidad.
The annual event was much smaller last year and confined to the Madrid Royal Palace grounds because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year it returned with some health precautions.
The Oct. 12 event, which includes military overflights and a reception at the Royal Palace, marks the historical consolidation of the Spanish state and its colonization of the Americas.
Leonor, the Princess of Asturias, was not present at the event. She’s away at school in Wales.
Queen Letizia traveled to Switzerland on Friday to inaugurate an exposition of works by Spanish master Goya.
The works are on display at the Beyeler Foundation museum near the Swiss city of Basel.
King Felipe last week visited the city of Tenerife in the Canary Islands to speak with officials about the ongoing volcanic eruptions in the nearby island of La Palma.
The King visited with members of the Canary Island Tourism Council to discuss the impact on the regional economy.
The Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast. His Majesty also visited the parliament building in Tenerife for an awards ceremony.
Spain’s royals have held meetings in recent weeks with the leaders of Colombia, Angola and Portugal amid a busy fall agenda.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia last month welcomed the president of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, and his wife, Ana Dias Lourenço at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Earlier in the month, Their Majesties were in Portugal with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to inaugurate a cancer center in Lisbon.
The center is backed by the Champalimaud Foundation. The King’s mother, Queen Sofia, is involved with the group, according to the Royal Household.
The King was in Lisbon Sept. 12 for the state funeral of former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio.
On Sept. 16, King Felipe and Queen Letizia held a lunch for Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez, his wife María Juliana Ruiz and a delegation from both countries.
Earlier this month the King welcomed several new ambassadors to present their credentials at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Another recent guest to Spain was Chilean President Sebastián Piñera.
LOS BORBONES 