Military Easter once again marks the beginning of the political, military and Royal Household year. Today the Kings will preside over the first military event of the course, in which they will begin the military year and take stock of the last twelve months, which in this edition has an important novelty: it will be the first time in which Princess Leonor participates, who will attend dressed in a military uniform, in the same way as she did last October 12, the day of the National Holiday, when she already wore the cadet gala uniform of the General Military Academy of Zaragoza.
In this act the shadow of the amnesty and the price of the pacts that the Government led by Pedro Sánchez has reached in recent months with the independence movement will inevitably once again fly over those present. The Catalan issue has already marked Felipe VI’s Christmas Eve message, and despite traditionally having a much smaller political burden, it is not ruled out that the Monarch alludes to this issue that has marked the political and social roadmap of recent months. and that it is called to do so also throughout 2024.
«Outside respect for the Constitution there is no democracy or coexistence possible; there are no freedoms but imposition; “There is no law, but arbitrariness,” considered Felipe VI during his Christmas speech without losing the balance that corresponds to him as Head of State. For this reason, he asked “to prevent the germ of discord from ever establishing itself among us is a moral duty that we all have. Because we can’t afford it.
In his speech, Felipe VI, after the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, is expected to take stock of the last year in military matters and address the Armed Forces for the course that now begins. In recent years, the Monarch made special mention of the role played by our military both in the context of the war in Ukraine and in the fight against the pandemic or to minimize the damage caused by the volcano on the island of La Palma.
Just a year ago, for example, Felipe VI claimed “the importance of investing in Defense” to “provide” our military “with the necessary resources to guarantee training of the highest quality, sufficient military capabilities and cutting-edge technology, and a “flexible and adequate operational” in the response to the Russian threat.
In 2022, shortly before the war broke out in Ukraine, the Monarch remembered the “strength and moral height” of the ETA victims on the tenth anniversary of the cessation of “the brutal violence” of the terrorist group, and a year before, In 2021, he vindicated the “commitment” of the Armed Forces to the Constitution in the midst of controversy over chats by retired soldiers who questioned the coalition government and even launched coup slogans. At that time, the Monarch defended the Spanish Constitution to censure this episode, in the same way he did on December 24 to demand “respect” for constitutional values.
Yesterday, Minister Robles took advantage of the eve of Military Easter to congratulate the Civil Guard and highlight “the work they do every day of the year, leaving the flag of Spain, and of the Crown, very high, which is so important for the Spanish people”. This will be, in addition to the first occasion in which Princess Leonor participates, the tenth in which the Military Easter is presided over by Felipe VI since he acceded to the Throne in June 2014.
Precisely, the King Emeritus celebrated his 86th birthday yesterday in Abu Dhabi. This is the first anniversary that he commemorates since he established habitual residence in the United Arab Emirates. He did it with a party that had dozens of guests, including the Infantas Elena and Cristina, as well as several grandchildren, although the Kings, Princess Leonor and Queen Sofía, among others, were not present.
