Albares confirms that he will accompany the king to the funeral and insists that the monarch emeritus will come on “personal invitation”

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has confirmed that he will accompany King Felipe VI at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II next Monday in London, while insisting that the presence of Juan Carlos I It will be on a personal basis. Albares explained that the “usual” thing is that he is the one who accompanies Don Felipe on his international trips, and since he is the one who has been invited as head of state, his presence in the Spanish delegation is justified.

In this regard, during a press conference with the Secretary General of the Arab League, Ahmed Abul Gheit, he justified the fact that it is not the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who will also go to London, stressing that the king and the head of government never travel together except in the case of Ibero-American summits “due to the very special relationship” with this region. The “strange thing”, he insisted, would have been that the king and the president had come to London together.

In addition, he recalled that the organizer of the funeral of Elizabeth II is the United Kingdom, which sent an invitation “to the heads of state and government according to each country”. In the Spanish case, the invitation was addressed to Felipe VI and, therefore, “it is he who is going to represent” Spain, while the King Emeritus “has received a personal invitation and comes in response to this invitation “, he pointed out. , without wanting to comment further on the presence or how it will move in London.

La Zarzuela announced on Monday that Don Felipe and Doña Letizia had accepted the invitation to attend the monarch’s funeral for seven decades and clarified that Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía had also been invited and were awaiting their “personal decision” regarding your attendance. . Hours later, he confirmed the two’s intention to attend Elizabeth II’s farewell. (EP)