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State visit by Elizabeth II to Spain

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Elizabeth II
Juan Carlos I

Queen Elizabeth IIof theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelandmade astate visitto theKingdom of Spainfrom 17 to 21 October 1988. It was the first official visit by a British monarch to Spain, and came two years after KingJuan Carlos Imade the first official visit by a Spanish monarch in 80 years to the United Kingdom.[1]It was the Queen's only official visit to Spain;relations between the two kingdomshad been fraught by Britain's presence inGibraltar.[2][3]

Arriving inMadrid,the Queen visited the city and the nearby royal residence ofEl Escorial,as well asSevilleandBarcelona.At the end of formal events, the two monarchs and their consorts sailed toMallorcato spend three days on the island.

Paul Delaney ofThe New York Timeswrote that "The visit has captured the attention of this nation, whose relations with Britain have been marred by hostility and distrust since the British defeat of theSpanish Armada400 years ago ".[4]

Background[edit]

The visit came in the early years of theSpanish transition to democracyfollowing the death ofFrancisco Francoin 1975 and the1981 Spanish coup d'état attempt.Spain had joinedNATOand theEuropean Economic Communityin 1982; the UK was already a member of both.[4]

A month before the royal visit,Margaret Thatcherbecame the firstprime minister of the United Kingdomto visit Spain. Juan Carlos I refused to attend thewedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencerin 1981 as the honeymoon was set to be in Gibraltar;[3][2]he later grew closer to the British heir and holidayed with him inMallorca.[4]

Elizabeth II and Juan Carlos I were third-cousins, sharingQueen Victoriaas a great-great-grandmother. Their respective consortsPrince Philip, Duke of EdinburghandQueen Sofía,were members of theGreek royal family.[4]

Events[edit]

On 17 October 1988, Elizabeth II arrived atMadrid-Barajasairport as the first British monarch to make an official visit to Spain; her ancestors Queen Victoria (1889) and KingEdward VII(1906) had visited unofficially.[5]

At thePalacio de las Cortesin Madrid, the Queen was shown bullet holes from the1981 coup attempt.[4]During a dinner, she referred to Gibraltar as "the one remaining problem" in the bilateral relations.[6]

Theprime minister of Spain,Felipe González,hosted a lunch at his official residence, thePalace of Moncloa,on 18 October.Juan Mari Arzak,a specialist inNew Basque cuisinefromSan Sebastián,prepared the meal. The British royal party requested as protocol not to be servedgarlic,due to its effects on the breath and on the stomach; Arzak modified hishakerecipe and other dishes, which later formed part of a "Reina de Inglaterra" (Queen of England) menu athis own restaurant.[5][7]

On 19 October, atEl Escorial,Elizabeth II turned down the opportunity to enter the Pantheon of Kings, without giving a reason. Santiago Castelo of the conservative newspaperABCwondered if this was due to the presence in the crypt ofPhilip II of Spain,the king who sent the Spanish Armada and who was viewed unfavourably in English popular memory.[8]On the same day, she received the Gold Medal of theComplutense University of Madridafter giving apro-Europeanspeech in which she also mentioned the importance ofSpanish-British relations.[9]

The Queen later went toSeville,where at theAlcázar,chef Rafael Juliá servedAndalusian cuisineto Elizabeth II; thegazpachohad to be made without garlic or cucumber. It had been planned forduckfrom the marshlands of theGuadalquivirto be served, but the Queen had already eaten duck at El Escorial andpartridgewas known to be on the menu for her trip toBarcelona,sopheasantwas prepared. The meal was served onLimoges porcelainacquired bySevilleCity Council for theIbero-American Exposition of 1929and decorated with the city's coat of arms.[5]

The British and Spanish royal couples arrived in Barcelona on 20 October, where they met with thePresident of the Government of CataloniaJordi Pujoland theMayor of BarcelonaPasqual Maragall.They visited theMuseu Picassoand theEstadi Olimpic de Montjuic,where Elizabeth II received1992 Summer Olympicsmerchandise featuring the mascotCobifor her grandchildren. She then opened a building at Kensington School, a British school established in the city in 1966. They then headed for Mallorca on theroyal yachtBritannia.[10]

At the end of formal events, the two royal couples arrived inPalma de Mallorcaon 22 October, where "GIBRALTAR ESPAÑOL" was written in graffiti on the harbour. After three days, the British royal couple departed, being waved off by their Spanish counterparts, thePresident of the Balearic IslandsGabriel CañellasandNicolás Cotoner, 23rd Marquess of Mondéjar.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^Mendo, Carlos (21 April 1986)."La visita de los Reyes de España al Reino Unido cierra hoy un paréntesis de 80 años"[The visit of the King and Queen of Spain to the United Kingdom closes a bracket of 80 years today].El País(in Spanish).Retrieved18 October2022.
  2. ^abYusta Valverde, Jorge (9 September 2022)."Gibraltar, la piedra con la que Isabel II tropezó en sus relaciones con España"[Gibraltar, the rock Isabel II tripped up on in her relations with Spain].Público(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  3. ^abAlonso, María Eugenia (8 September 2022)."Los Reyes de España, parientes en disputa por la 'herencia' del Peñón"[The Spanish royal family, relatives in dispute over the 'inheritance' of the rock] (in Spanish). Leo Noticias.Archivedfrom the original on 19 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  4. ^abcdeDelaney, Paul (21 October 1988)."Lilibet of London Visits Cousin Juanito, the King".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  5. ^abcVega Pérez de Arlucea, Ana (10 September 2022)."Isabel II y el gazpacho «a la inglesa»"[Elizabeth II and "English-style" gazpacho].El Comercio(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 19 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  6. ^Martínez-Cabeza Lombardo, Miguel Angel (1998)."«THE ONE REMAINING PROBLEM» REMAINS. THE RHETORIC OF AN ANGLO-SPANISH CONFLICT".Atlantis.20(1): 111–121.ISSN0210-6124.JSTOR41055494.Retrieved13 September2022.
  7. ^Gandía, Pablo (9 September 2022)."Las exigencias de Isabel II que obligaron a Arzak a cambiar su menú en La Moncloa:" Hizo la merluza sin ajo ""[Elizabeth II's demands that made Arzak change his menu at Moncloa: "He made hake without garlic" ] (in Spanish).Cadena SER.Archivedfrom the original on 13 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  8. ^Cervera, César (19 September 2022)."Las misteriosas razones por las que Isabel II se negó a visitar la tumba de Felipe II en El Escorial"[The mysterious reasons why Elizabeth II refused to visit Philip II's tomb in El Escorial].ABC(in Spanish).Retrieved19 September2022.
  9. ^Martín, Alberto (12 September 2022)."Isabel II recibió en 1988 la Medalla de Oro de la Universidad Complutense"[Elizabeth II received in 1988 the Complutense University's Gold Medal] (in Spanish).Tribuna Complutense.Archivedfrom the original on 12 September 2022.Retrieved14 September2022.
  10. ^Márquez Daniel, Carlos (11 September 2022)."El día en que Isabel II se enamoró de Picasso y Cobi en Barcelona"[The day that Elizabeth II fell in love with Picasso and Cobi in Barcelona].El Periódico de Catalunya(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 12 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
  11. ^Pérez, Iratxe (8 September 2022)."La visita de la reina Isabel II a Mallorca"[Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Mallorca].Última Hora(in Spanish).Archivedfrom the original on 9 September 2022.Retrieved13 September2022.
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