Commemoration of the Start of WWI in Belgium: August 4, 2014


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Yes ofcourse,one doesn't come uninvited at these high level occasions.But the initial question was WHY was Felipe invited/attending?

Spain had no business with WWI,it stayed out of it all,was neutral...as were numerous other countries.Spain,The Netherlands as well as the Scandinavian countries were never involved in WWI.So,hence the question is legal and should be answered by someone in the know,why was a Monarch of a country that had no part in WWI invited to attend?Anyone?

That said,I think all ceremonies were done beautifully.

Well I'm not in the know so I can't tell you why Felipe was invited.

I have no issue with Felipe attending. I agree with what ladyfinn said it's a nice gesture. I also see it as a mark of respect to those countries who were involved in WWI.
 
I believe that Spain was invited because of the work the Spanish King did during the war to help the Red Cross and PoWs etc. There is a very good piece on Royal Dish about what the Spanish were doing in helping those who needed repatriating etc.

I suspect the other reason why the Spanish were invited was that it was a largely European affair and thus the EU countries were invited to say 'look how far we have come in the last 100 years - we are all friends now'.
 
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