UK welcomes Spanish king and queen with military pomp

Spain’s King Felipe and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sit together in a carriage as they are taken to Buckingham Palace

 Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and her husband welcomed the king and queen of Spain with an extravagant military ceremony yesterday.

The three-day state visit by King Felipe VI and his wife, Queen Letizia, came amid rising tensions between Spain and Britain over what Brexit means for the future of Gibraltar, a tiny British territory which borders Spain.

There was no sign of discord as the Spanish royals arrived at Buckingham Palace, though, with Britain treating them to the full pomp and pageantry traditionally rolled out for visiting heads of state.

Prince Philip and Felipe first inspected troops at central London’s Horse Guards Parade, a former royal jousting yard. Dozens of soldiers on horseback then escorted both monarchs and their spouses in a spectacular procession down The Mall, decorated with Union Jack and Spanish flags. Felipe rode with the queen in the 1902 State Landau, a gilded carriage built for the coronation of King Edward VII, while Philip travelled with Letizia in a separate carriage.

Felipe and Letizia are the first Spanish monarchs to visit Britain since Felipe’s father toured the country in 1983.

Felipe is expected to speak about Gibraltar when he addresses Parliament later yesterday.

He and his wife will then dine at a state banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, where they are staying. AP