Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Spain with his wife, Peng Liyuan, for a state visit before moving on to the G-20 Summit in Argentina.
The Chinese president and first lady met with King Felipe and Queen Letizia at the Royal Palace in Madrid for a welcome ceremony and state dinner, and also at Zarzuela Palace for meetings.
The queen and first lady visited the Royal Theater in Madrid. The following are a collection of images released by the Spanish Royal Household.
His Majesty this month also met with Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, whose trip to Europe has sparked debate about the fate of Wikileaks leader Julian Assange, who has been holed up at Ecuador’s British embassy for years.
King Felipe received another batch of new ambassador credentials at the Royal Palace in Madrid this month.
Panamanian ambassador to Spain arriving at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
But unlike previous times, the Royal Household released images of a horse-drawn carriage transporting the dignitaries through Madrid to the palace.
The New Zealand ambassador making his way to King Felipe.
The Crown revived the tradition several years ago but it has not gotten too much attention.
The carriage takes ambassadors from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Royal Palace, where members of the Royal Guard help escort them to His Majesty.
Don Felipe, and his wife, Princess Letizia, were in Buenos Aires lobbying for the city’s bid, along with other officials, including Government President Mariano Rajoy.
The Prince is said to have impressed delegates with his use of French, English and Spanish to answer questions about Madrid’s preparedness.
In the end, the Prince of Asturias said he understood the “sadness from the people of Madrid and all of Spain.” He said, “This is a competition that we were not able to win.”
Princess Letizia took to the streets of Madrid for some below-the-radar shopping while her daughters were in school. Hola magazine took note of her cutting edge fashion.
Meanwhile, her husband, Prince Felipe, yesterday presided over a dinner marking a meeting of the Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union at the Spanish Supreme Court.
Don Juan Carlos was back in the hospital for a few hours last night for surgery on his right hip.
In an official announcement, the Royal Household said the King went to USP San José Hospital to take care of a dislocation. It happened after a sudden or “bad” movement.
The King had been healing from a hip replacement procedure. Doctors said they would continue monitoring his recovery.