King Felipe and Queen Letizia welcomed dozens of diplomats and world leaders in Madrid today for this year’s United Nations climate conference.
The King hosted a reception and delivered remarks at the Madrid Royal Palace’s Hall of Columns, which is reserved for deeply important events.
Among the King’s guests was U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The royals greeted her warmly.
The King is also set to attend the conference’s closing ceremonies later this month.
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.
King Felipe met late last week with French President Emmanual Macron at the Royal Palace in Madrid.
The French leader was in the Spanish capital to also meet with new Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to discuss, among other things, EU immigration policy.
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.
The King had an audience with the new head of Spain’s conservative Popular Party, Pablo Casado, also in recent days.
The full agenda preceded vacation season in Spain. Members of the Royal Family will spent at least some time at Marivent Palace in Mallorca.
However, scandal surrounding King Juan Carlos and a former friend, has upended plans for a unified getaway.
The Royal Household is blaming a minor health problem for King Felipe’s father staying away from Mallorca and planned sailing.
President Obama, during a visit to Spain, spent time with King Felipe at the fames Reina Sofía museum last week.
The King and the former U.S. president toured the complex, including Picasso’s Guernica masterpiece.
King Felipe also gifted Obama a book about Guernica.
King Felipe won praise but also skepticism earlier this month when he attended a charity bullfight in Madrid.
Aside from people who oppose the activity, aficionados wondered whether the King — who got a standing ovation — really stands with them.
Don Felipe has not been as keen on attending bullfights compared to his father, King Juan Carlos, and his sister, Infanta Elena.
Both of them were helping open a new winery in the Basque Country during the Madrid bullfight.
Conventional wisdom says Queen Letizia is not partial to bullfighting. Neither is Queen Sofia, an animal rights advocate.
The late Duchess of Alba was also an animal rights advocate, but an ardent supporter of bullfighting as a Spanish tradition.
King Felipe received another batch of new ambassador credentials at the Royal Palace in Madrid this month.
But unlike previous times, the Royal Household released images of a horse-drawn carriage transporting the dignitaries through Madrid to the palace.
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.
Prince Felipe expressed disappointment this weekend over Madrid’s loss to Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.
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.”
