Eduardo González
King Felipe VI warned yesterday, during the gala dinner hosted by Queen Margrethe II on the occasion of his State visit to Denmark, that “the world needs, imperiously, a strong and united Europe” in the defense and promotion of its “principles and values” because “the future of the next generations depends on it”.
This is the first state trip of a King and Queen of Spain to Denmark since the one made by Juan Carlos I and Sofia in 1980 and, therefore, the first trip of Felipe VI and Letizia to this country since their arrival to the Throne in 2014. However, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia already traveled to Denmark on April 15, 2015 to attend the gala dinner that the Danish Royal House had organized at Christiansborg Palace to celebrate the 75th birthday of Margrethe II, and also coincided with the Danish Queen in London, on September 19, 2022, on the occasion of the State Funeral for Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The Danish Monarch also attended in 2004, in Madrid, the wedding of Don Felipe, then Prince of Asturias, with Doña Letizia.
The King and Queen – who are accompanied by the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; the State Secretary for the EU, Pascual Navarro; and the State Secretary for Trade, Xiana Méndez – arrived at noon at Copenhagen Airport, where they were received by Queen Margrethe, Prince Frederik, Princess Mary and Princess Benedikte. Later, the King and Queen moved to the Christian II Palace in Amalienborg, where they held a meeting with the Queen of Denmark and the Crown Prince and Princess Margrethe II presented Felipe VI and Queen Letizia with the Order of the Elephant, the highest distinction of the Kingdom of Denmark. For his part, the King of Spain imposed the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic on Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and his wife, Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
In mid-afternoon, Don Felipe moved to Christiansborg Palace, where he held a meeting with the Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, with whom he talked about “the good and lasting relations between Denmark and Spain”, as she herself reported through her official account on the social network X. Also present at the meeting were José Manuel Albares, Xiana Méndez, the Spanish Ambassador to Denmark, María Victoria González Román, the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, and the Danish Ambassador to Spain, Michael Braad.
Gala dinner
The day concluded with a gala dinner in honor of the King and Queen of Spain at Christiansborg Palace, which began with a speech by the Queen of Denmark in which she stated that “Spain plays an important role in Europe”, holds “the Presidency of the Council of the European Union and has become, increasingly, a close and important partner for Denmark”. “We are united in our efforts to ensure peace and stability in an uncertain world and to achieve economic and social prosperity for the peoples of Europe,” she assured.
“Both countries take responsibility when called upon and actively participate in the search for answers to global challenges,” the Queen said. “Last year,” she recalled, “our heads of government stood shoulder to shoulder during a joint visit to Ukraine.” The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, traveled in April 2022 to Ukraine (only two months after the beginning of the Russian invasion) to convey their support to President Volodímir Zelenski and to announce the sending of military equipment.
In his response, Felipe VI stressed that “Spain and Denmark share agendas in important sectors such as the green transition, the fight against environmental degradation and the preservation of biodiversity”, and assured that “the prosperity and peace of our countries rest on the firm foundation provided by being part of the EU and belonging to the Atlantic Alliance”.
In this sense, he stressed that “the EU has established itself as a democratic reference, of rights and justice”, which “requires us to remain united and firm, in our principles and values, together with our allies, also in the face of the most recent challenges, such as the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, a flagrant violation of International Law”.
“At the same time, we live with enormous concern and sadness the new outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestine,” the King recalled. “From the outset, we categorically condemned the Hamas terrorist attacks, while calling for the resumption of the peace process, all without forgetting our commitment to International Humanitarian Law,” he continued. “The world needs, imperatively, a strong and united Europe in the defense and promotion of these purposes”, because “the future of the next generations depends on it”, he warned.
