Los Reyes llegan a Londres a la embajada de España, antes de pasar por la capilla ardiente de Isabel II. @OndaCero_es pic.twitter.com/KCjLizdLzu
— Francisco Paniagua (@fpaniaguaocr) September 18, 2022
King Felipe and Queen Letizia arrived in London for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia paid their respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II at the Palace of Westminster in London. The Royal couple arrived in London earlier this afternoon along with King Felipe’s Mother Queen Sofia on Spanish Air Force’s Aircraft that landed at the RAF Northolt base where The Queen’s Coffin arrived earlier this week.
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The Royal Couple is staying at the Spanish Ambassador to the UK’s residence in London during their stay. While Queen Sofia will be staying with her husband King Juan Carlos who flew in separately from UAE. Last week, The King and Queen issued a lovely tribute to King Charles III. The message reads,
“Your Majesty, dearest Charles,
Deeply saddened by the sorrowful news of the passing away of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, your beloved Mother, I would like to offer Your Majesty and the British people, on my behalf and on behalf of the Spanish Government and people, our most heartfelt condolences.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth has undoubtedly witnessed, written, and shaped many of the most relevant chapters in the history of our world during the last seven decades.
Her sense of duty, commitment, and a whole life devoted to serving the people of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland set an example for all of us and will remain a solid and valuable legacy for future generations.
Queen Letizia and I send Your Majesty and the whole Family our love and prayers. You are all in our hearts and thoughts. We will miss Her dearly.
With all my friendship and affection, Felipe”
Spanish Royals enjoyed a close relationship with British Senior Royals. Queen Letizia has undertaken two joint engagements with the formerly Prince Charles of Wales who is now King Charles III. Felipe and Letizia’s elder daughter Princess Leonor is studying at UWC in Wales.
King Felipe is the Queen’s third cousin – and affectionately called her “Auntie Lilibet” – while his father King Juan Carlos is the great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria. Juan Carlos’ father Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, was the son of Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was the daughter of Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child. Through his mother Queen Sofia, King Felipe is also a descendant of King Christian IX of Denmark like Queen Elizabeth II is. Queen Sofia of Spain was born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, the daughter of King Paul of Greece, who was a first cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Felipe and Letizia also visited the residence of the British High commissioner to Spain, Hugh Elliott, in Madrid to sign the book of Condolences. The message read, ” With our enormous respect, admiration as well as deep sadness we leave you in this book heartfelt condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II. She was an example of dignity, a sense of duty, courage, and dedication to the people of the United Kingdom. She would always be a great source of inspiration for all of us. We express our condolences and affection to King Charles III and Queen Consort, the royal family, the government, and the people of the United Kingdom“.
After the news of Queen Elizabeth II was made public, King Felipe and Queen Letizia paid tribute through their social media channels. The Royal Palace also shared a few lovely pictures of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia with Queen Elizabeth II.
The Spanish Royal couple had met Queen Elizabeth II on two occasions. First in July 2017 during the 3 days long State visit to the United Kingdom. During the visit, Queen Elizabeth appointed King Felipe of Spain a Supernumerary Knight of the noblest Order of the Garter, the highest distinction granted by the British monarchy.
The next time the couple met Queen Elizabeth II was in June 2019 when they joined her at the Order of Garter service.
Keeping the style notes to a minimum, Queen Letizia wore a black Hugo Boss dress that she has had in her wardrobe since 2015 on arrival with a brooch that belonged to Queen Victoria Eugenia.
For a visit to the Palace of Westminster Letizia changed into another black Carolina Herrera Blouse that has floral detailing on the shoulder with a matching skirt and a pair of Diamond floral shaped earrings that she wore here Tonight, The Royal Couple will join the World Royals and World Leaders at the Buckingham Palace reception hosted by King Charles III.
