State Visit from the King and Queen of Spain: July 12-14, 2017

[wbenson]

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsa...entofaStateVisitbytheKingandQueenofSpain.aspx

King Felipe VI, accompanied by Queen Letizia of Spain, has accepted an invitation from The Queen to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from 8th to 10th March 2016.

The King and Queen of Spain will stay at Windsor Castle.

 

[wyevale]

Hurrah ! They will be MOST welcome.

No downgrading to 'Lounge suits & Short Dresses' for our State Banquets...

 

[Dman]

Very exciting news. Thank God there will be a new royal State Visit to the UK! Been waiting for something like this like forever.

 

[muriel]

Look forward to it. I would have thought that Spain would have hosted this visit.

 

[Stefan]

Interesting that it will be again a State Visit based at Windsor Castle. Wasn't that also the case for the State Visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia to the UK?

 

[wartenberg7]

Finally (!!!) a monarchy/ monarchy state visit once more!

 

[Marengo]

They also used it for the French state visit IIRC. Since the roof of the dining room in Buckingham palace is unsafe I suppose they don't have another option either.

But a nice thing to look forward to. Hopefully we will see the Fleur-de-Lys on Queen Letizia.

 

[Tilia C.]

The banqueting hall in Windsor is absolutely beautiful, so I'm glad to see it again. I didn't know that the roof in BP was unsafe. They just had a banquet there for China, so it can't be too dangerous?


Anyway, this is going to be a major event to look forward to. Let's hope to see both the PoW/DoCo and the Cambridges. And some bigger tiaras for Queen Letizis, I don't mind it she wears the fleur-de-lys or one of the two Cartier tiaras.

 

[Bine221]

The banqueting hall in Windsor is absolutely beautiful, so I'm glad to see it again. I didn't know that the roof in BP was unsafe. They just had a banquet there for China, so it can't be too dangerous?


Anyway, this is going to be a major event to look forward to. Let's hope to see both the PoW/DoCo and the Cambridges. And some bigger tiaras for Queen Letizia, I don't mind it she wears the fleur-de-lys or one of the two Cartier tiaras.

Yeah, finally a big tiara for Queen Letizia! Looking forward to how it will suit her and how she will look like !
Bye Bine

 

[JR76]

State visit by the King and Queen of Spain: March 8-10, 2016

That the State visit is based at Windsor has more to do with that the Queen is traditionally based there a month every spring during her "Easter court" than the state of the roof of the dining room at Buckingham palace.


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[ANNIE_S]

Terrific news indeed! Not unexpected since rumours had been published already, but I didn't expected any official confirmation until we would get the new government in office later this month. So it's great the official news come from the UK and we don't have to speculate longer

What was the last time that a monarch paid a State Visit to the UK? It's sure a long time since the Spanish royals paid a State Visit to another monarchy, and obviously it's the first one for F&L

Let's hope Queen Leti will bring along the big guns and we get to see the Cambridges there too. So much to look foward to!

 

[muriel]

I think the last incoming royal state visit to the UK was on 2005 when the Norwegians visited and Camilla had her first tiara outing, with the Delhi Durbar

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

From The British monarchy twitter account.

King Felipe VI - as Crown Prince - welcomes The Queen to Spain in 1988
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVUEcX5WoAEDpn-.jpg

 

[Tilia C.]

Terrific news indeed! Not unexpected since rumours had been published already, but I didn't expected any official confirmation until we would get the new government in office later this month. So it's great the official news come from the UK and we don't have to speculate longer

What was the last time that a monarch paid a State Visit to the UK? It's sure a long time since the Spanish royals paid a State Visit to another monarchy, and obviously it's the first one for F&L

Let's hope Queen Leti will bring along the big guns and we get to see the Cambridges there too. So much to look foward to!

From the announcement on the British website:

Background
The last State Visit from Spain was by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 1986.

The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh paid a State Visit to Spain in 1988.

About time! It's been nearly 30 years!
I hope that the Cambridges will be regulars at the State Banquets from now on. But the Pow and DoCo will probably also attend, so that we won't see so much of the Cambridges.

I think the last incoming royal state visit to the UK was on 2005 when the Norwegians visited and Camilla had her first tiara outing, with the Delhi Durbar

Wouldn't it be amazing if Camilla unpacked the Delhi Durbar once more for this occasion?

 

[eya]

From The British monarchy twitter account.

King Felipe VI - as Crown Prince - welcomes The Queen to Spain in 1988
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CVUEcX5WoAEDpn-.jpg

WONDERFUL NEWS!! Thanks for this picture. Amazing. How times change

 

[An Ard Ri]

Exciting news and I bet a lot of fellow royal watchers will be watching to see what tiara Letizia will be wearing!

 

[TheRoyalCourtisane]

Yeah I am dancing. We get to see a 2 different generations/relatives of Sovereign heads, tiaras worn at the dinner banquet, their Majesties and Royal Highnesses fashion.

Exciting news and I bet a lot of fellow royal watchers will be watching to see what tiara Letizia will be wearing!

I will like to see her wear the Fleur-de-Lys Tiara or borrow Queen Sofia's pearl and diamond loop tiara

 

[linda85]

I hope this doesn't conflict with the Cambridge tour of India. I would love to see William and Catherine at the State Banquet for the King and Queen of Spain.

 

[Mbruno]

http://www.royal.gov.uk/LatestNewsa...entofaStateVisitbytheKingandQueenofSpain.aspx

King Felipe VI, accompanied by Queen Letizia of Spain, has accepted an invitation from The Queen to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from 8th to 10th March 2016.

The King and Queen of Spain will stay at Windsor Castle.

That was widely expected, and now it's official. The British government wants to ease tensions with Spain over Gibraltar and a State Visit might help.

I am curious if Charles will attend the State Banquet. If the gossip we have been hearing about on TRF is true, he feels unease around "young monarchs" and tries to avoid being with them in official events. Unlike the President of China, however, it'll be hard for the PoW to find an excuse not to attend a dinner in honor of the King of Spain.

 

[GömdNatt]

I think the last incoming royal state visit to the UK was on 2005 when the Norwegians visited and Camilla had her first tiara outing, with the Delhi Durbar

although it had the appearance of a state visit, that was simply classified as an Official Visit.

The last State Visit I can think of was Denmark in 2000, I believe. (although technically Qatar & UAE are monarchies)

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

That was widely expected, and now it's official. The British government wants to ease tensions with Spain over Gibraltar and a State Visit might help.

I am curious if Charles will attend the State Banquet. If the gossip we have been hearing about on TRF is true, he feels unease around "young monarchs" and tries to avoid being with them in official events. Unlike the President of China, however, it'll be hard for the PoW to find an excuse not to attend a dinner in honor of the King of Spain.

This is just nonsense and sounds like gossip from the fails Sebastian Shakespeare or Ephraim Hardcastle etc.

 

[GömdNatt]

This is just nonsense and sounds like gossip from the fails Sebastian Shakespeare or Ephraim Hardcastle etc.

agreed. Charles did, after all, attend Felipe & Leti's wedding. And Charles & Camilla visited Spain and seemed quite at ease with Felipe & Leti. Oh and he invited them to his 60th birthday celebrations.

 

[Dman]

I hope this doesn't conflict with the Cambridge tour of India. I would love to see William and Catherine at the State Banquet for the King and Queen of Spain.

I was thinking about that. We don't know their Indian tour schedule yet, so hopefully the State Visit and Indian tour won't clash. If so, well there will be another State Visit in the fall, but I'm hoping they will make it to the Spanish State Visit.

 

[Marengo]

The banqueting hall in Windsor is absolutely beautiful, so I'm glad to see it again. I didn't know that the roof in BP was unsafe. They just had a banquet there for China, so it can't be too dangerous?

Apparently it was discovered recently during a routine check:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f230/buckingham-palace-18906-19.html#post1843593

But as the article says: there are more than enough rooms left in the palace that can be used instead. So JR76's explanation is the most likely one.

 

[Skippyboo]

State visit by the King and Queen of Spain: March 8-10, 2016

The ikon picture guy on Twitter when the tour was announced said the Cambridge's India tour was in April. It doesn't make sense to book 2 high profile events during the same time frame. Even with the Irish State Visit and WKG in NZ, you had a big time difference so they could do the arrival in NZ and then the Queen had the spotlight for the state banquet and the Cambridges had a rest day the next day so there wasn't something to bump the Queen/Irish visit off the papers

The visiting country picks if they want it all BP or Windsor. The Irish visit was at Windsor in 2014.

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[Stefan]

Apparently it was discovered recently during a routine check:

http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f230/buckingham-palace-18906-19.html#post1843593

But as the article says: there are more than enough rooms left in the palace that can be used instead. So JR76's explanation is the most likely one.

The room mentioned in the article is not the one where State Banquets are taking place. They are in the Ballroom.

 

[Mbruno]

agreed. Charles did, after all, attend Felipe & Leti's wedding. And Charles & Camilla visited Spain and seemed quite at ease with Felipe & Leti. Oh and he invited them to his 60th birthday celebrations.

Yes, but Felipe wasn't the king of Spain back then. He was the heir to throne just like Charles. Now, he outranks the PoW.

BTW, I'm not saying I believe the rumor. I'm just saying that has been posted before on TRF . I believe it was a newspaper article posted to the "The Windsors and Europe" thread, but I'm not sure.

 

[GömdNatt]

Yes, but Felipe wasn't the king of Spain back then. He was the heir to throne just like Charles. Now, he outranks the PoW.

BTW, I'm not saying I believe the rumor. I'm just saying that has been posted before on TRF . I believe it was a newspaper article posted to the "The Windsors and Europe" thread, but I'm not sure.

Regardless, Charles has an already established relationship with Felipe, Philippe, & Willem. Them being King doesn't change much, besides that they outrank him. Charles is old enough and mature enough now to understand its just how things work. He might feel a pang, but I'm sure, based on his attitude in the past few years, that he's not uneasy at all.

Baseless rumors that have no fact to back them up.

 

[An Ard Ri]

From the BBC

King of Spain to make UK state visit - BBC News

 

[ROYAL NORWAY]

State visits by constitutional monarchs from democratic countries to the UK in the Queen's reign.

1954 - Sweden

1962 - Norway

1963 - Belgium

1971 - Japan

1972 - The Netherlands, Luxembourg

1974 - Denmark

1975 - Sweden

1982 - The Netherlands

1986 - Spain

1988 - Norway

1994 - Norway

1998 - Japan

2000 - Denmark

2005 - Norway (Official visit)
Norway celebrated its 100th year of independence in 2005, and as part of the celebrations, the Norwegian royal family came to the UK for an official visit in October. Queen Maud, the first queen consort of the independent Norway, was (as we know) the daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra, making the trip a perfect highlight for this special year.

I don't really understand why this trip was called an Official Visit. We had all the state visit rituals including a carriage procession, a state banquet etc. The only thing that was different was that the Queen received the Norwegian royal family at Buckingham Palace and not at the Horse Guards Parade where they were received by Princess Anne and Timothy Laurence before they traveled together in the Australian State Coach and Scottish State Coach.