Critics and supporters both said Queen Letizia took part of today’s strike among women in Spain.
Because Her Majesty did not have any public events, they assumed that was the case. And they said it showed a contrast to Queen Sofia, her mother in law, who was out in public today.
The Royal Household, media outlets reported, said that the absence of public events didn’t mean an absence of work for Queen Letizia.
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau confronted King Felipe during a dinner yesterday to welcome this year’s Mobile World Congress in the city.
The mayor refused to formally welcome the King because she sees him as supporting police action against last year’s illegal referendum on Catalan independence. She told him so this week.
The King, according to sources and media outlets, responded that his role was to support the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan statute of autonomy.
Several Catalan leaders boycotted King Felipe’s visit to the region today for the start of this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Mayor of Barcelona, the head of the parliament and other officials want the King to apologize for apparently supporting the government’s efforts against separatists.
King Felipe attended a dinner at the famed Palace of the Arts in Barcelona. Many Catalan leaders say he should have spoken last year against police actions against an illegal referendum on independence. Don Felipe instead spoke in defense of the constitution and Spanish unity.
This evening the King spoke in Spanish, Catalan and English. “I am delighted to give you all the warmest welcome to Spain, to Catalonia and particularly to the truly global city of Barcelona and today the World Mobile Capital,” he said.
Last week King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited a contemporary art fair in Madrid, which was mired in controversy after organizers took down a piece describing jailed separatists as political prisoners.
Catalionia’s former president, Carles Puidgemont, who fled Spain to avoid arrest, said the region would welcome the King once independent.
The Spanish government slammed the regional officials who refused to meet Don Felipe and said they threatened to spook mobile fair organizers.
King Felipe is thanking countries for standing with Spain during the ongoing Catalan crisis.
The King recently held a reception at the Royal Palace in Madrid for the ambassadors of different nations.
In a speech from the Throne Room, Don Felipe expressed his appreciation for the backing of their countries.
Catalan independence politicians are discussing forming a new regional government but remain divided on how to deal with Madrid’s demands.
King Felipe today awarded Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish throne, the Crown’s top honor.
Leonor, Princess of Asturias, became a member of the Order of the Golden Fleece during a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
At 12, the Royal Household and Spanish government have been getting the princess ready to assume official duties in the coming years.
The award coincides with King Felipe’s 50th birthday. In recent days, he released a behind-the-scenes video of his family life.
The video includes images of the Zarzuela Palace complex not before seen by the public. Critics said the Crown should be even more transparent.
King Felipe arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, yesterday and already made news.
In remarks, the King promoted a global Spain committed to innovation. He also touched on the Catalan crisis.
I don’t wish to conclude this part of my speech without addressing the recent crisis in a truly fundamental part of our country’s soul and diverse identity: Catalonia; where we have seen an attempt to undermine the basic rules of our democratic system.”
A lesson to be learned from this crisis — a lesson not only for Spain, but for democracies in general — is the need to preserve the rule of law as a cornerstone precisely of democracy, and to respect political pluralism and the basic principle of national sovereignty that -in fact- belongs to all citizens. Political disagreements and disputes must be resolved in accordance with the democratic rules and values laid down in our Constitution and legal framework.
Spain’s Constitution, as you can all well understand, is no mere ornament. It is, rather, the very expression of the will of our citizens and the key pillar of our democratic coexistence. As such, it deserves the utmost respect from each and every one of us. My country is a law-abiding State where legal certainty prevails and therefore the Constitution and the laws are effectively enforced.
-King Felipe VI
The King also met with corporate and world leaders, including Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, and Spaniards participating at the conference.
U.S. President Trump is also due in Davos this week. But King Felipe has a public event back home tomorrow. It doesn’t seem the two will meet.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were in Rome on Friday to celebrate a lighting project at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
Spanish company Endesa backed the installation, and Spain’s monarchy has for centuries had ties to the basilica.
King Juan Carlos was born in Rome, in exile from Spain after the Civil War.
Members of the Spanish Royal Family honored King Felipe’s father, King Juan Carlos, last week.
The Royal Household last year kept Don Juan Carlos away from a celebration of the Spanish Constitution, which he signed.
This year there appears to be a pivot to celebrating the King who abdicated in 2014 and helped lead his country’s transition to Democracy during the 1970’s and 80’s.
King Felipe praised his father during the Pascua Militar ceremony at the Royal Palace in Madrid, which coincides every year with Epiphany.
Earlier, family and guests were at Zarzuela Palace for King Juan Carlos’ 80th birthday.
Infanta Cristina, whose husband was convicted of financial crimes, was not in the official pictures.
The Spanish Royal Family will retake its agenda over the weekend with the annual Pascua Militar ceremonies at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
Last month, King Felipe closed the year by taking on — once again — the separatist threat in Catalonia during his Christmas Eve address.
After elections there before Christmas, in which pro-independence parties lost the majority of votes but won the most seats, the King warned against efforts to break away.
“The path cannot take us again to confrontation or exclusion that, as we know, only generate discord, uncertainty and poverty — moral, civic and of course economic — for an entire society,” said the King.
Catalan nationalists accused the King of not softening his tone from an earlier speech on the crisis and for siding with the conservative ruling party.
Mainstream commentators, however, noted that conservatives were not happy with the King’s remarks either because it appeared to accuse them of not seeking a negotiated settlement.
The King also encouraged Spaniards to be confident in their Democracy and — while addressing corruption and the economy — to be more proud of their achievements.
The Royal Household released the Christmas cards below last month. The King and Queen and their daughters featured a family picture.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia’s card featured, as is tradition, an image of Spanish art.
The Pascua Militar, which coincides with the Christian celebration of Epiphany, is one of the year’s most important military-related events.
King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia were in Romania in recent days to mourn King Michael, who received a state funeral despite not dying as a reigning monarch.
King Michael ruled during two different periods of Romanian history before being forced to abdicate. He died earlier this month in Switzerland.
Both King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia shared family and friendship ties with King Michael.
LOS BORBONES 