The King and Queen of Spain have found themselves unwittingly drawn into a political argument about Notre Dame.
The cathedral reopened in Paris at the weekend following major restoration after a fire in 2019 which devastated the medieval building.
Royalty from around the world, among them the Prince of Wales and the King and Queen of the Belgians, were in attendance alongside political leaders including the US President elect, Donald Trump, and the President of Ukraine, Vlodomyr Zelensky.
However, King Felipe was not there – in fact, there was no official representation from Spain at all, leading to questions that have now boiled into a political row.
In an increasingly confused debate about why the country had no one at the ceremony, the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, said he had had to miss it for family reasons. However, his department said it wasn’t up to them whether King Felipe and Queen Letizia attended as ”the international presence of the king and queen and the government” wasn’t their responsibility.
However, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said the invitation sent to the Culture Minister wasn’t transferrable and neither were the invites sent to the King and Queen. In the end, no one went to represent Spain.
The front row of royals at the ceremony included Prince William who sat next to Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. On their other side was King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of the Belgians who were also sat next to Prince Albert II of Monaco.
Donald Trump was given the seat next to the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, while the US First Lady. Dr Jill Biden, sat with the First Lady of France, Brigitte Macron.
Notre Dame reopened on December 7th 2024 with the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, ceremonially banging on the doors with a crozier made from charred wood which fell from the cathedral’s ceiling during the fire.
The ceremony also saw a huge round of applause for the firefighters who worked so hard when the cathedral caught fire.
