The protocol during the funeral has seated the King, Don Juan Carlos, Doña Letizia and Doña Sofía together
Two years after the last image, Felipe VI and the King Emeritus have reappeared together in a public act. The protocol designed by the British Royal House during the funeral of Elizabeth II has placed the King, Doña Letizia, Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía in the same bench in Westminster Abbey. The four of them are seated in the second row, in the area reserved for the main royal houses of Europe. To the right of the queen emeritus sit the kings of Norway, Harald V and Sonia. In front are Margaret of Denmark and her son, her son, Federico; the kings of Sweden Carlos Gustavo and Silvia; and those of the Netherlands, Guillermo and Máxima, as well as the previous queen, Princess Beatriz. In the bench behind are the Kings of Belgium Felipe and Matilde; the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg, Enrique and María Teresa; as well as Albert of Monaco and Charlenne.
The last time an image of Felipe VI could be seen with his father was at the funeral of the Infanta Pilar in January 2020 in El Escorial. Since then, there has only been one other meeting, and it was private. It was last May, when Don Juan Carlos temporarily returned from Abu Dhabi to attend a regatta in Sansenxo. After passing through the Galician town, the King Emeritus and Felipe VI met in La Zarzuela, albeit discreetly. A trip that showed the tensions between father and son.
The two were on Sunday at the official reception that was organized at Buckingham Palace for more than 500 guests. They went separately and, although they apparently had a “cordial” meeting during the act, no images could be captured. The King was accompanied by Queen Letizia and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; and Don Juan Carlos, from Doña Sofía. While Felipe VI had landed in London on an Air Force flight from Madrid, the King Emeritus did so on a commercial one directly from Abu Dhabi.
Although at first there was speculation about the possibility that father and son would sit in different places to avoid an image in Zarzuela, it was not quite convincing, in the end they shared a bench. The institutional signal launched by the BBC has not allowed us to witness whether they have arrived together or separately at the temple.
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