Tag: King Juan Carlos

King, Royals Headline Ibero-American Summit

The Spanish Royal Family will be in the spotlight this week as it hosts the 22nd Ibero-American summit in the southwestern port city of Cádiz.

Today King Juan Carlos met with Dominican President Danilo Medina, the first Head of State to arrive at the gathering, which mostly consists of Spanish and Latin American leaders.

Meeting at Zarzuela Palace.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Tomorrow morning, His Majesty will meet with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Ecuatorian President Rafael Correa. Later on, he will host a lunch for outgoing Mexican President Felipe Calderón.

Then, King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and the Prince and Princess of Asturias will attend official summit ceremonies. The Queen is also scheduled to host a meeting with first ladies during the weekend.

Queen Sofia speaking in Vienna.

Earlier this week Prince Felipe presided over a meeting of young people from Ibero-American countries. The event was meant to include youth in finding solutions to regional problems.

King Juan Carlos is hoping for a successful meeting with the goal of strengthening ties between Spain and Latin America, a key part of the country’s economic growth strategy.

Queen Sues Cheating Website

Queen Sofia is suing the website Ashley Madison for pasting her face on another body and using it in an ad for the dating service, according to numerous media reports.

Ashley Madison, a branch of Canadian company Avid Life Media, encourages people to have affairs facilitated by the site.

The media reports indicate that Her Majesty is suing the company with private money.

Queen Sofia giving out King Jaime I awards in Valencia.

Recently, the Royal Household expressed discontent at Ryanair using the Queen for one of its ads after she flew on the airline on a rush visit to her brother in London.

King Juan Carlos did not take legal action for another Ashley Madison ad using his likeness.

King Lobbies for Indian Investment

Spain’s King Juan Carlos finished a four-day state visit to India today, where the two countries finalized several bilateral agreements and pledged increased economic cooperation.

King Juan Carlos meeting with business leaders in Mumbai.

The King met with the Indian leadership, along with local and international business leaders. Bilateral commerce between both countries was worth around $5 billion last year, the Royal Household said.

“Today our societies can only progress with a climate of openness, stability and security,” the King said during one of his stops. The King has made global trade a priority as a means of improving Spain’s ailing economy.

State Dinner in New Delhi.

The King secured Indian support for Spain gaining a seat in the United Nations Security Council. Other agreements include investment in a Catalonian firm and more joint defense activities.

King Juan Carlos offers flowers for Mahatma Gandhi.

Media outlets reported that King Juan Carlos said the situation inside Spain makes him want to cry, but he also encouraged people not to be pessimistic about the country’s future.

King’s Inviolability Invoked

An important story about the Spanish Royal family has begun trickling into the international media. The story is important not because of its gossip value but because of its constitutional lessons.

Two Spanish courts have rejected claims from two people saying the are illegitimate children of King Juan Carlos. The Telegraph wrote this about Alberto Sola Jimenez from Catalonia and Ingrid Sartiau from Belgium:

In an interview earlier this year she said: “My mother told me who my father was while we were watching television. An image of King Juan Carlos flashed up and she said: ‘That man’s your father.'”

The pair met for the first time in June when they underwent DNA tests that show there is a 91 per cent chance that they have one parent in common.

However, the courts rejected their claims because the Spanish Constitution makes clear that the person of the King is “inviolable.”

King Juan Carlos receives new ambassadors at Royal Palace in Madrid.

The Royal Household has remained silent about the story, which has appeared in El Mundo and El Huffington Post, but has not been prevalent in many mainstream media outlets.

Queen Sofia Visits Bolivia; King Gets Rap

Queen Sofia has spent much of the week crisscrossing the South American nation of Bolivia, a source of immense mineral wealth for Spain during imperial times.

Queen Sofia with indigenous Bolivians and in local clothes.

Her Majesty met with Bolivian President Evo Morales, who thanked the Queen for Spain’s efforts at helping his country.

The two also signed an agreement aimed at resolving the controversy over the discovery of coins from a sunken Spanish ship. Spain went to court to obtain possession of the valuable treasure.

But because the coins were minted in the imperial mining city of Potosí, Spain will allow Bolivia to host its own display of the find.

Morales, known as one of Latin America’s most outspoken advocates of indigenous rights, greeted the Spanish Monarch with warmth.

© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

During the trip, Queen Sofia visited development projects backed by Spain, including the Queen Sofia Foundation.

King’s gets a rap

Last week, young students visited King Juan Carlos to present projects depicting what the Monarchy means to them.

One of the students sand a rap for the King, which has become somewhat viral in Spain.

The contest was backed by the Spanish Institutional Foundation, a non-profit group which promotes the Monarchy among youth.

Politics Surrounds Hispanic Day

Politics and Spain’s tough economic situation surrounded the annual Fiesta Nacional in Madrid today.

The celebrations, including a military parade, cost a fraction of what it did in previous years in keeping with times of austerity.

© Casa S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

King Juan Carlos was seen chatting with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy during the parade. Media outlets are reporting that the King criticized the education minister’s comments in favor of making Catalonian children more Spanish.

Amid talks of independence in that autonomous community, Prince Felipe told journalists that he is not worried about Catalonia and that the Crown would continue its commitment to all Spaniards.

At the Royal Palace, however, King Juan Carlos joked with journalists instead of talking about the Catalonian situation.

Throne Room, Royal Palace.
© Casa S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Also of note, Infanta Elena was not with other members of the Royal Family during many of the ceremonies.

The Royal Household told media outlets that only the the King, Queen and the heirs to the throne would be included in the main stand from now on.

“The time had to come,” Infanta Elena told reporters. She will continue to represent the Royal Family at official events.

The Infantas have usually been close to their father during important events, but things have changed amid Infanta Cristina’s absence from the family’s public affairs because of her husband’s corruption probe.

Presidents Gather Amid Economic, Social Pressures

King Juan Carlos and Prince Felipe of Asturias met with leaders of Spain’s autonomous communities at the Spanish Senate building today.

The meeting, of course also attended by Spanish government leaders, including Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, was especially important because of disagreements about the Spanish budget, funding for the country’s region’s and pro-independence rumblings in Catalonia.

Gathering in front of the Spanish Senate building in Madrid.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Elsewhere in Madrid, King Juan Carlos gave Nueva Economía Fórum awards to Italian President Giorgio Napolitano and Portuguese President Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, both on behalf of their respective countries.

The Fórum facilitates debate between social, business and political leaders. President Napolitano also met with the King at Zarzuela Palace.

King Juan Carlos at the head table.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia then rushed to the airport for their official visit to Panama. Their agenda includes a visit to the Panama Canal expansion project.

Barajas Airport.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Their Royal Highnesses will also visit Ecuador during their time in Latin America.

Newspaper Features King’s Troubles

The New York Times and its International Herald Tribune analyzed King Juan Carlos’ place in modern Spain and recent controversies relating to the Monarchy.

The feature contrasted pro-republican feelings, discomfort about the Royal Family’s unknown wealth, the controversial hunting trip to Botswana and the country’s economic troubles with the King’s role as Spain’s top booster.

The Monarch, for example, helped secure a multi-billion dollar high speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia.

The king is widely valued in business circles for acting as a sometime deal maker and economic ambassador for his nation, but how he has amassed his substantial personal wealth remains secret. The Spanish royal family’s wealth has been estimated at up to $2.3 billion, a sum that supporters contend was inflated by the inclusion of government properties.

King Juan Carlos inaugurating new port terminal in Barcelona. It was another chance to meet with Catalonian President Artur Mas.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

The King, who was recently in New York, stressed the need to promote Spanish trade as a means to improve the Spanish economy. He also spoke about his own role in the country’s future.

“The monarchy will continue as long as the people want a monarchy,” the king said on a swing through New York last week, part of a palace strategy to meet with top opinion makers to help promote confidence in Spain.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia in the Canary Islands.

But while the newspaper described the King as a non-ruling Monarch, it’s important to remember his role in public life, which in many ways goes beyond that of other European royals.

If they’re paying for a Monarchy, people in Spain want its members to do something other than ribbon cutting at events.

While Queen Elizabeth refrains from expressing an opinion about anything, King Juan Carlos, for example, penned a public letter recently expressing his views, albeit indirectly, about Catalonian calls for independence.

The Royal Palace has said such communications will become increasingly common.

Queen Sofia at the Royal Theater.

Click here to read the NYT story.

King Meets With Catalonian Leader

King Juan Carlos met with Catalonian President Artur Mas during the Monarch’s trip to Barcelona today.

It was a much anticipated — and in some quarters dreaded — meeting between both men. It comes amid Mas calling for early elections in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and fanning pro-independence flames.

King Juan Carlos with Mas sitting to his right.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

The King traveled to the Catalonian capital to hand out the Count of Barcelona award to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Count of Barcelona is one of King Juan Carlos’ titles.

His Majesty, who had already released an open letter calling for unity among all Spaniards, expressed optimism about the country’s economic future.

He called the economic and political situation “grave” but said Catalonians and all Spaniards “are capable of overcoming these circumstances.” He also spoke in catalán for good measure.

Earlier this week the King was in New York attending the annual meeting of former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative, where he met with other heads of state and world leaders.

King Juan Carlos speaks with former President Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, members of the Royal Family have resumed a busy agenda. Today, for example, Queen Sofia attended a gathering of backers of the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid.

Queen Sofia at the museum.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Crown Debuts New Website, Media Presence

The Spanish Royal Household has overhauled its website, getting rid of an outdated series of pages for a more sleek and modern look.

The new website is not only an effort to update the Royal Palace’s internet presence, but also reach out to many Spaniards who have expressed skepticism about the Monarchy, especially young people who may not be as aware of King Juan Carlos’ role in the transition to democracy.

The new site includes new pictures of the Royal Family, information about the Crown’s role in Spanish government and society, and videos of pivotal moments in history.

King Juan Carlos, Prince Felipe and Infanta Leonor, who could someday become Queen.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos

Prominent are pictures and videos of the King and Prince Felipe swearing allegiance to the Spanish Constitution. The King’s 1981 message to the country amid a coup attempt is also included.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia, and daughters in their home near Zarzuela Palace.
© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Cristina García Rodero

Charismatic and tender Queen Sofia has often been a powerful weapon for the Monarchy. Now they’re also deploying Princess Letizia. The website includes a photo spread focusing on the Princess by award-winning photographer Cristina García Rodero.