Eight to ten new ambassadors prevented from attending the National Day on October 12

Luis Ayllón Between eight and ten new foreign ambassadors are prevented from attending the traditional reception offered by His Majesty the King on the occasion of the National Holiday on October 12, to authorities and representatives of various sectors of Spanish society. The absence of the ambassadors is due to the fact that they cannot participate in events presided over by the head of State if they have not previously presented to him the Credentials that accredit them as representatives of their respective countries. The moment of the presentation of Credentials does not depend on the ambassadors, but on the Spanish authorities who must set the moment to do so. All these ambassadors have already arrived in Spain and have presented the Style Copies of their Credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which enables them to carry out the rest of their activities in our country. Specifically, according to what The Diplomat has been able to confirm, at least the ambassadors of Cyprus, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Belgium, Sweden, Andorra, Canada and Panama are in this situation. However, some sources say that the number of ambassadors waiting has already reached ten. The Diplomat requested information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a week ago, but has not received any response. Most of them arrived in Madrid in September and the first week of October, but have not been able to hand in their Credentials, because the ceremonies in which they take place, in the Royal Palace, are usually held in groups of six ambassadors. The last one took place on September 16, and in it, the King received the Credentials of the ambassadors of Egypt, Qatar, Australia, Peru, Paraguay and Palestine, who had already been in Spain for months. The handing over of Credentials takes place following a strict order of arrival in Spain and presentation of Copies of Style. In diplomatic circles, it was hoped that another ceremony would be scheduled before October 12, so that at least six other ambassadors - those who arrived at the beginning of September - would have been able to attend the National Day Celebration, but finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not prepared any other Credentials presentation ceremony with the Zarzuela Palace, so the affected countries will be represented by the Chargé d'Affaires. This is not the first time in recent times that a significant number of ambassadors have been prevented from attending one of the most important official moments for the Diplomatic Corps. During the past year, around twenty ambassadors, some of them from very important countries, had to wait several months to present their accreditations because there was no ceremony from the end of May until January 2024. Many of the ambassadors were unable to attend the October 12 Celebration and, in some cases, not even the traditional reception for the Diplomatic Corps at the end of January. Spain was immersed in electoral processes and, although the Government had been in office since July 23, the King was not and could carry out the task of receiving Credentials.

Related Content

Spain and 17 other countries call for an end to Israeli military operations in Lebanon and Hezbollah attacks

EU Member States give green light to Gibraltar agreement with the United Kingdom

Rubio calls the closure of Spanish airspace “disappointing,” and Albares asserts that he “fears absolutely nothing” from the US

Leopoldo López receives Spanish nationality for his “defense of democratic values”

Spain and the rest of the EU, except Hungary, demand “full accountability” from Russia in Kyiv