King Felipe VI of Spain and his Queen Letizia are to visit Portugal on July 7th 2014 having first dropped in on the Pope.
The letter of congratulation sent by Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva on the change of Spain's monarch sees to have done the trick as Silva was keen to extend a warm welcome should the new Spanish monarchs wish ever to call in.
Cavaco Silva stated that that Spain is a country with which Portugal has "special friendships." These partly will have been developed during the 60 year period after Spain invaded Portugal and the Spanish king became Philip I of Portugal in 1580 to the annoyance of the Portuguese population. This situation lasted for 60 years and still partly defines the framework for Portuguese:Spanish relations.
Any lingering animosity has mellowed over time and now Portugal is beholden to Spain as a supplier of tourists and as a ready market for exports. However Portugal does not have a king or queen so it will be a treat for monarchists to welcome those from next door.
The first official overseas visit by the young royals is to the Vatican, where they will be greeted by Pope Francisco.
Madrid insists that this visit to Rome has nothing to do with tradition, nor is it an apology for the absence of any religious symbolism during last week’s coronation ceremony.
The new King and Queen are setting a brisk pace, for Spaniards anyway, and one or both soon will visit Morocco, France and then Liège in Belgium to attend a commemoration ceremony for WWI, then on to New York to attend the general assembly of the United Nations in September 2014.
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was a journalist and news anchor and is popular in the new Spain as she has no noble blood and is the eldest daughter of Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez, a journalist, and his first wife, María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez, a registered nurse and hospital union representative
On 2 June 2014, King Juan Carlos announced that he would abdicate in favour of his son Felipe who was enthroned on 19 June, upon which Letizia became queen consort.
