Spain’s king to speak at UK parliament this week

The King and Queen of Spain jet into the UK this week for a three day-long Royal excursion that will see the couple take in a visit to Buckingham Palace, a dinner at Clarence House, a business workshop in the City of London, and a trip to the House of Commons, where King Felipe is expected to address Parliament…

The visit is the first of its kind in 30 years, and comes at a time when relations between the UK and Spain are – despite the relatively sticky Brexit issue – very good. The trip has been rescheduled twice due to internal political reasons.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia will arrive in London on Tuesday, July 11 and will head straight to 10 Downing Street for lunch with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

The official programme begins on Wednesday, when the Royal couple will meet Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh at Horse Guards Parade.

The occasion is expected to include a message from the UK reassuring Spanish companies and nationals operating in Britain about Brexit – something King Felipe is also likely to mention in his address to the House of Commons the following day.

And it is not just the Queen and Prime Minister that will make themselves available to receive the Spanish couple – it is also expected that the entire British royal family will attend a gala dinner at Buckingham Palace on July 12.

Apparently it is incredibly rare that all of British royalty gets together to welcome visiting foreign dignitaries, and Spanish diplomatic sources are reportedly delighted at the warmth being offered by the Brits to their own Royal figureheads.

On Thursday Prince Charles will accompany King Felipe to the City to attend a meeting with Spanish and British business leaders, followed by a visit to Westminster Abbey where the two will take part in an homage to recent victims of terrorism.

The trip will be rounded off with a series of academic meetings and presentations in Oxford. Judging by reports, the shared and mutual warmth and respect showed by both nations’ Royal families has been extremely positively received.