The Kings Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have already arrived in London, where they are going to attend the events for the coronation of Carlos III. The Monarch and his wife traveled separately to the British capital, as the King attended an act of the Talent Tour in Lugo in the morning, while the Queen had no events on the agenda. After lunch, both have met at the Spanish Embassy, ??the official residence of the King and Queen in London, and the only headquarters of diplomacy with rooms for both the King and the Queen.
Around half past four in the afternoon, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have left the Embassy for Buckingham Palace, where Carlos III has organized a welcome reception for the members of the European royal houses who have traveled to the coronation. It is a mid-afternoon appointment, so protocol called for a short suit, and no tiaras. The Queen has released a pistachio green dress and has complemented it with a brooch in the shape of a diamond bow and a bracelet on her right arm
This afternoon, at Buckingham Palace, the kings and queens will congratulate Carlos III and Camilla and will meet with members of other royal houses. On behalf of the Netherlands, Princesses Beatriz and Amalia, mother and daughter of King William, will attend, who will represent him at this event. On the Belgian side, the heiress Elizabeth will also accompany her parents to the banquet at Buckingham. Carl Gustaf of Sweden is expected with Victoria, Albert of Monaco and the Princes of Liechtenstein.
Spain will be represented by the Head of State and his wife. Although at first the possibility of Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía attending was considered, finally the invitation came in the name of the Kings. The King’s mother is the great victim of this decision by Buckingham. Accustomed to traveling to London frequently and maintaining a close relationship with the Windsors, mainly because of the treatment they gave her brother Constantino after exile, Doña Sofía really enjoys international appointments, where she feels like an active queen and moves with looseness. In fact, in the first years of his reign, she was the “envoy” of Felipe VI to many international appointments.
The King and his wife will spend barely 24 hours alone in London, although they will have time to participate in all the events to which they have been invited. This Saturday, around half past ten in the morning -Spanish time-, a bus will pick you up at the meeting point for members of the royal families. They will all go together to Westminster Abbey, where the European royal families will take pride of place in the front rows of the nave to follow the coronation. It should be remembered that it is not only a historic moment for Carlos III, but for all the royal houses, since it is the first time that the British monarchy, related to all the royal families, invites its counterparts to a ceremony until now reserved for the Windsors .
Something similar to what happened in the proclamation of Felipe VI and in that of Don Juan Carlos, that there were no members of other dynasties. In fact, in Spain there is no custom of royal summits. The last meeting of the Kings with their European peers was at the funeral of Constantine of Greece in Athens. On that occasion, there was more representation of reigning and non-reigning European Houses than at Elizabeth II’s funeral.
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