King Felipe VI and Prince Albert II commemorate the 150th anniversary of the first diplomatic mission between Spain and Monaco

The Diplomat King Felipe VI held a meeting and subsequent luncheon with Prince Albert II of Monaco on Monday to mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the first diplomatic mission between Spain and Monaco. According to the Royal Household, both the meeting and luncheon took place at the Zarzuela Palace. Afterwards, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, and the Prince and Princess of Monaco visited the exhibitions “8th Forum of Monaco Artists” and “Monaco and Spain: Five Centuries of Shared History” at the Villanueva Pavilion of the Royal Botanical Garden. These exhibitions were organized by the Embassy of Monaco in Madrid to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the opening of the first diplomatic mission. The “8th Monaco Artists Forum” showcases the work and artistic techniques of more than fifty professional and amateur artists, both Monegasque and residents, who will present their paintings, sculptures, photographs, ceramics, and digital drawings. Meanwhile, the exhibition “Monaco and Spain: Five Centuries of Shared History,” organized by the Embassy of Monaco in Spain, aims to highlight the richness of the historical, cultural, and diplomatic ties between the two countries. Through a selection of documents, archives, and images, the exhibition offers an immersive experience in history and heritage, reviewing the main stages of these relations over five centuries. These exhibitions can be visited at the Villanueva Pavilion of the Royal Botanical Garden-CSIC from May 25 to June 13. Furthermore, Albert II was received by the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, at the Moncloa Palace complex. During the meeting, both leaders highlighted the multilateral cooperation between their countries in areas such as ocean conservation and the fight against climate change, and the Prime Minister conveyed to Albert II his support for Monaco's current Presidency of the Council of Europe, which began in May and will conclude in November of this year. [caption id="attachment_144334" align="alignnone" width="750"] Photo: Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa[/caption] This is the fifth visit of the Prince of Monaco to Spain in the last seven years. On June 16, 2019, Albert II paid a private visit to Madrid, which included a meeting with the King at the Zarzuela Palace. The Monegasque monarch returned to Spain on October 15, 2022, when he visited Cantabria to see a World Heritage rock art site and was invited to lunch by the King. On July 26, 2023, Prince Albert II made a private visit to Burgos and the Sierra de Atapuerca to visit the Atapuerca archaeological excavations, and the Museum and Research Center for Human Evolution. Finally, on May 31, 2024, the Prince of Monaco traveled to Puente Viesgo to inaugurate a commemorative plaque in the name of Prince Albert I and the temporary exhibition “Albert I of Monaco, Prince of Prehistory,” an event that concluded with the signing of an agreement between the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology of Monaco and the Government of Cantabria. The Principality of Monaco and the Kingdom of Spain established diplomatic relations on June 2, 1876, during the reign of Charles III, Prince of Monaco from 1856 to 1889. On July 14 of that same year, King Alfonso XII of Spain authorized the opening of a Monegasque delegation, which remained linked to the Monegasque delegation in France until June 1945. Since then, the Principality of Monaco has always maintained a presence in the Spanish capital, except during the 1930s, when it was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent Second World War. The delegation was elevated to the rank of Embassy on November 30, 1990. Since then, the Principality has had seven ambassadors in Spain. Currently, the mission is headed by Catherine Fautrier-Rousseau, resident ambassador since August 2020, who leads a team of five. In November 2013, Spain appointed its first ambassador to Monaco, based in Paris, Carlos Bastarreche. He was succeeded by Ramón de Miguel on August 1, 2014. Currently, the Head of Mission is Victorio Redondo Baldrich. Although the Monegasque diplomatic mission in Spain dates back to 1876, the ties between the two countries go back much further. In 1524, the Lordship of Monaco, then held by the Grimaldi family, separated from the Holy Roman Empire to become a Spanish protectorate, after Emperor Charles V recognized its sovereignty and offered it his protection as the Catholic King of the Hispanic Monarchy. That relationship lasted a little over a hundred years, when, on September 14, 1641, the Treaty of Péronne was signed between King Louis XIII of France and Honoré II of Monaco, which ended the Spanish protectorate and returned the Principality of Monaco to the French sphere.

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