Princess Leonor will join today a new milestone in its institutional career to star his first solo international trip. Doña Leonor is travelling to Portugal, a country with which her family has special ties to the point that her father, King Felipe VI, speaks the language and with which Spain maintains excellent relations as a result of their historical relationship as well as geographical proximity. The visit is in response to an invitation from the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, which highlights the ties of friendship and fraternity between Spain and Portugal.
The Heir to the Spanish Throne will remain in the neighbouring country for around eight hours during which she will face a hectic day in which she will be the main protagonist and which will be full of firsts. For the first time, Leonor will be seen off with honours in the State Pavilion at Barajas Airport, something that is common in the State trips that the King and Queen have made before. On this lightning trip, as she will make the round trip on the same day, she will be accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares, since all acts of the members of the Royal Family have to be endorsed by the Government. For now, the Princess of Asturias does not have her own office, so it will be Camilo Villarino, head of the Household of HM, who will be at Princess Leonor’s side on her first solo trip, as he did when she was awarded the three medals in Zaragoza.
Queen Leonor will land in Lisbon, specifically at the Figo Maduro Military Airport, where she will receive a Cordon of Honor formed by the Portuguese ambassador to Spain, João Mira Gomes; the Spanish ambassador to Portugal, Juan Fernández Trigo; the Head of Protocol of the Portuguese Republic, Jorge Silva; and the Head of the Military Airport, Abel Oliveira.
Princess Leonor’s first stop will be at the Jerónimos Monastery, where she will be welcomed by the director of the Monastery, Margarida Donas, and the Prior of Santa Maria de Belém, José Manuel Dos Santos. During her visit to this place of worship, which houses the tombs of some of Portugal’s most famous historical figures such as Vasco da Gama and the poet Luís de Camões, she will make a floral offering and sign the visitors’ book. It was also here that the famous Lisbon Treaty of the European Union was signed in 2007.
Next, The Heiress will travel to the Belém Tower. The transfer will be in a caravan, escorted by a cavalry squadron. Upon arrival at this emblem of Portugal, built to commemorate Vasco de Gama’s expedition to India, Princess Leonor will be received by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. There will be an official photograph, a greeting to the different delegations and she will be awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, one of the most important distinctions in the Portuguese country. It will then be when the Heiress will give a speech during the toast, the only one planned for today and in which she will probably praise the good bilateral relations and the historical and neighbourhood ties that Spain and Portugal share.
In the afternoon, another of the highlights of the day will take place: the visit to the Lisbon Oceanarium where he will learn first-hand about the work of the Blue Ocean Foundation and participate in the round table with a group of young scientists on ocean research and the protection of the marine environment. This is not a trivial matter, but an area in which both Spain and Portugal are working intensively, given their geographical location, as both countries border the Pacific Ocean and are committed to disseminating the importance of caring for the marine environment. The choice of this subject during the first official trip of the Heiress responds to a personal interest of Doña Leonor as well as a bilateral collaboration between Spain and Portugal, which are working together on several projects in this area.
Great relationship between the King and Rebelo de Sousa
The destination chosen by the Royal Family for this first international trip is due to the historical, political, social, economic and cultural ties that Spain maintains with the Portuguese Republic. Both countries have strong ties related to history and their contemporary trajectory. They have traveled common paths in the process of European integration, in the promotion of the Ibero-American Community or the defense of the European Union.
The two heads of state also have a well-known friendship. They met in March 2016 in Lisbon during the Portuguese president’s inauguration and met again eight days later in Madrid. On his first trip outside Portugal, after visiting the Vatican, Rebelo de Sousa was received by Felipe VI. Portugal was also one of the first destinations of the King and Queen outside Spain after the proclamation of Felipe VI in June 2014. The intensity of bilateral relations is also supported by,
in participation in Spanish-Portuguese summits, Ibero-American summits, meetings of the COTEC Foundation for Innovation or fairs.