The Diplomat
The King and Queen of Spain, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, and the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, yesterday visited the official residence of the British Ambassador, Hugh Elliott, to express their condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whom they described as an “example of dignity, serenity and dedication” and who will “always be a great source of inspiration for us all”.
The King and Queen, who arrived at around 20:00, signed the Book of Condolence and left a written record of their “enormous respect and admiration”, as well as their “profound sadness” at the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“Her example of dignity, serenity and tireless dedication to the service of the United Kingdom and its people will always be a great source of inspiration to us all,” they wrote, and then offered their condolences “with fraternal affection to Charles III and the Queen Consort, the Royal Family, the Government and the British people”.
Don Felipe had already sent a personal telegram on Thursday to the new king, whom he addressed as “dear Charles”, and expressed his sorrow at the “sad news” of the death of his “beloved mother”, as well as conveying his “deepest condolences” and those of the government and the Spanish people.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, for his part, went half an hour later to the ambassador’s residence “to convey my affection, and that of the whole of Spain, to the Royal Family, the British Government and the British people”, as he posted on his Twitter account, in which he added that “Queen Elizabeth II’s commitment and sense of duty will be an inspiration for future generations“.
For his part, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, in a message in which he recalls that today is the Rock’s feast day, expresses his sorrow at the death of the sovereign, of whom he recalls that she was “the Queen of all our Constitutions to date” and stresses that “we emancipated ourselves to the autonomy we have today in the glorious second Elizabethan era”.
