The Diplomat
Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, yesterday expressed his wish that Charles III of England would soon pay a visit to the Rock. The recently deceased British sovereign, Elizabeth II, only visited the colony in 1954, on a trip that prompted the Franco regime to close the then Spanish Consulate in Gibraltar.
In an interview with Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Picardo was asked about the possibility of Charles III repeating Elizabeth II’s gesture, shortly after his coronation, on a tour of the Commonwealth, during which he passed through Gibraltar.
The Chief Minister replied: “As head of her government in Gibraltar, to say what I would expect would be to start the relationship off on the wrong foot. But I can certainly tell you that Gibraltar would very much like the Sovereign to come to Gibraltar. He needs no invitation. Again, it would be almost rude to invite His Majesty to Gibraltar because Gibraltar belongs to His Majesty and he needs no invitation to come here.”
“But the people of Gibraltar would long for a visit. We would be delighted with a visit. We would long for a visit. The sooner the better, the more often he and the Queen consort come to Gibraltar or any member of the royal family, the happier we would be. I see no reason why there shouldn’t be a visit,” he added.
Visits by members of the British Royal Family to Gibraltar have always provoked protests from the Spanish authorities and, at times, the absence in protest of a ceremony to which the King and Queen of Spain had been invited. This was the case, for example, in 1981, when the then Prince of Wales and his wife, Diana, included the colony in their honeymoon trip. On learning of their intention to travel to Gibraltar, the King and Queen of Spain decided not to attend the wedding.
Gibraltar has been actively involved in mourning the death of Elizabeth II and the change of the Crown and yesterday a ceremony took place at which Picardo said: “Gibraltar today pledges its allegiance to a new King, the same Crown and with the same fervour that Gibraltar has had in its allegiance to our Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, until her passing, we declare our allegiance and our support and fidelity to the now King Charles III, King of Gibraltar”.
The title of King of Gibraltar is one of the titles held by the Spanish monarch, among many other territories, since 1463.
Aware of the unease caused in Spain by any visit by British royalty to Gibraltar, in his interview with GBC, Picardo expressed his gratitude for the expressions of mourning from Spain for the death of Elizabeth II and took the opportunity to launch a message: “Let us take the best from the past. Let us value things like today’s ceremony here and let the people around us see that the Britishness of Gibraltar greatly enriches this area and brings something special, which they should welcome”.
And that is why he expressed the hope that if Charles III were to visit Gibraltar, there could be “a meeting of all the communities of Campo de Gibraltar as well, around the Britishness of Gibraltar, which will never change, which will never be diluted”. “We are not going to accept that at all. If anyone needed to see the oath of allegiance of the British people of Gibraltar, they only needed to see the genuine grief that we have all felt and expressed at the death of our Queen Elizabeth II and the genuine loyalty that His Majesty King Charles III, will engender in Gibraltar, as he already does,” he said.
