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The one time the Queen went to Spain on a 5-day official visit... and spent 2 days on her yacht in Mallorca
In seven decades on the throne, Her Majesty only went to Spain once
Amazingly, in her 70 years and 214 days of reign, Queen Elizabeth II only visited Spain on one occasion for an official visit. Even so, the two countries have always fostered a relationship due to their family and personal ties, as both the former king of Spain Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of England, as were the Queen and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
Over the years, only the dispute over who the Rock of Gibraltar should belong to has clouded the relationship between the two Royal Families and, in fact, Spain was the only royal house not to attend the wedding of Charles and Diana of Wales in 1981.
Their good relationship was restored in 1986, when King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía made the first state visit to the UK by a Spanish monarch in more than 80 years, following the one made by Alfonso XIII in 1905 when he met Victoria Eugenia.
This visit, when the Spanish King became the first foreign monarch to address the UK Parliament, was followed two years later by Queen Elizabeth’s first and only trip to Spain.
In October 1988, Elizabeth II and Prince Philip set foot in Spain for the first and last time, and Juan Carlos took the opportunity to present Her Majesty with the Order of the Golden Fleece.
On the five day trip, the Queen visited Madrid, with a visit to El Escorial to see the tomb of King Felipe II, as well as going to Seville, Barcelona and two more days of private time in Mallorca aboard the royal yacht Britannia.
The current King of Spain, Felipe VI, himself visited the UK in 2017, asserting that “This state visit is an expression of the deep respect and friendship that describes the relationship between Spain and the United Kingdom.”
Aside from these two official visits to the United Kingdom from the Spanish royals and the one visit to Spain that the Queen made, over the years there have been lesser visits to both countries for leisure, weddings and funerals by other members of the Royal Families.
Charles and his wife Diana holidayed in Palma’s Marivent Palace in August 1986); and the Spanish royals went to London to attend the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002 and earlier this year, to name but a few examples.
You might also like: Queen Elizabeth II — a life in pictures
Image: Wikimedia commons
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