Felipe VI will preside in Congress next Wednesday over the solemn opening of the Cortes Generales of the XV Legislature, together with Queen Letizia and Princess Leonor. An event that will begin at 11:00 in the morning and in which the King will declare the legislature open before the deputies and senators in the plenary session of the Lower House.
With the solemn opening session of the Cortes, in which the high authorities of the State participate, the parliamentary activity begins, which will begin in earnest with the celebration of Constitution Day.
The Kings preside over the solemn opening a few days before the Congress and Senate celebrate their “Open Doors” in commemoration of the 45th anniversary of the Constitution. Dates on which citizens will be able to visit both the interior of the Senate and Congress.
On Tuesday, November 29, the kings will arrive at 11:00 in the morning at the Carrera de San Jerónimo, escorted by the Royal Guard Squadron, where the Honors Battalion, four companies of the Army, will be in formation. of the Navy, the Air and Space Army and the Civil Guard.
Felipe VI, Letizia and Leonor will be received by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and by the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD), Teodoro Esteban López.
Next, the King will receive military honors and review the Battalion to move to the steps of the Congress Palace, where the gala canopy or canopy will once again shine, and where the royal family will be received by the president of the Congress, Francina Armengol, and by the president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán.
The delegation will access the interior of the Palace to enter the chamber through the stairs of the Agenda Gallery, which gives direct access to the presidential gallery.
In the plenary session, the seats will be removed again and replaced by chairs to accommodate the deputies and senators summoned to this joint session of the Cortes.
The royal family will be welcomed with the National Anthem and then the president of Congress will open the session with a speech and then give the floor to the King, who after his intervention will declare the XV Legislature open.
Once the ceremony is over, the kings and the princess will greet the authorities and guests and then stand on the podium of honor and attend the military parade in their honor by the Group of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard, which will conclude the act.
During the nine years of Felipe VI’s reign, in which there have been six legislatures, the solemn opening of the Cortes was not celebrated in two. It was in 2016, in the XI Legislature and in 2019, in the XIII Legislature with the motion of censure against Mariano Rajoy.