Kings Felipe and Letizia are already in London to attend the coronation ceremonies of King Carlos III. This Friday they will participate in the reception offered at Buckingham Palace for royal guests and tomorrow they will attend the ceremony to be held at Westminster Abbey. Shortly after noon, the King, coming from Lugo where he attended an act of the Princess of Girona Foundation, and the Queen, from Madrid, arrived in London and met at the residence of the Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom, from where they left in the direction of Buckingham, Queen Letizia wore a pistachio-colored dress and the King, a suit and tie.
Felipe and Letizia, who together with the kings Juan Carlos and Sofía, were present at the funerals of Elizabeth II, last September, have returned to London, this time alone, since the heads have been invited to the coronation ceremonies of State and also the heads of the royal houses, a condition held by Felipe VI. At the farewell to the mother of Carlos III, the members of royal families who were related to the deceased were summoned, which is why the kings Juan Carlos and Sofía were present.
This weekend is the fourth time that the Kings travel to London officially. In July 2017, they staged the first state visit, which was also the last act in which the Duke of Edinburgh participated, before retiring from public life. The following year, Felipe and Letizia were in Windsor, where the King received, together with Guillermo de Holanda, the Order of the Garter. In April 2022, the King and Queen returned to London to attend the funeral of Philip of Edinburgh, who died on April 9, 2021, and later, in September, they attended the funeral of Elizabeth II.
The royal houses, whose heads of family will attend the ceremony that will take place on Saturday at Westminster Abbey, are also summoned to the reception that Carlos and Camilla offer this Friday at Buckingham Palace. Unlike the events surrounding the coronation of Elizabeth II, which included gala dinners and balls, the representatives of the royal houses, reigning and non-reigning, present these days in London, have dispensed with royal attributes and jewels, and they have gone to Buckingham Palace in evening dress and dinner in the royal dining room has been replaced by tea in the main hall.
The solemn coronation ceremony, which will take place on Saturday morning in Westminster, will be attended, along with other heads of state, by the Kings of Spain, Felipe and Letizia; Guillermo and Máxima from the Netherlands; Felipe and Matilde of Belgium, Carlos Gustaf of Sweden and Crown Princess Victoria, in addition to the Grand Dukes Henri and Maria Teresa of Luxembourg, Alberto and Charléne of Monaco. Representing the heads of their respective royal houses at Westminster Abbey will be Frederick and Mary of Denmark; Haakon and Mette Marit from Norway and Akishino and Kiko from Japan.
Princess Leonor is the only one of all the princesses and crown princes of Europe who will not be present at the celebrations held in London this weekend on the occasion of the Coronation of Carlos III. The Spanish heiress, who is going through her last weeks at the Atlantic College of Wales, has her end-of-year exams these days. The events held at Buckingham Palace will be attended, in addition to the Princes of Wales, by Princess Victoria of Sweden, Elizabeth of Belgium and Amalia of the Netherlands, as well as Frederick of Denmark and Haakon of Norway, the current heirs, together with Leonor, of the crowns of Europe.
