On the day before Easter, King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía travelled to the Madrid suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcón to visite the centre for welcoming and helping Ukrainian refugees making their way to Spain.
Upon their arrival at the facility, Their Majesties and Their Royal Highnesses were welcomed by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations and the State Secretary for Migrations.
The tour began in the management building of the centre, where the royals were welcomed by authorities of the associations working the facility, which include the the General Management of the Police, the Spanish Immigrant Catholic Association and the Centres of International Protection.
The King, Queen, Princess and Infanta also had an opportunity to meet with some of the refugees currently occupying the structure, with whom they chatted extensively and who told them their stories.
In particular, Queen Letizia and Princess Leonor sat down with some children, who showed them their drawings and King Felipe bent down to play with a child who was holding a toy truck and to interact with a young boy listening to music with neon green headphones on.
The Spanish Monarchy has been among the first to show their support for the Ukrainian people fleeing the conflict. A few days after the invasion, King Felipe visited a logistics centre trying to get people out of the country, and Queen Letizia attended an awards ceremony with a blouse inspired by Ukraine’s national costume.
Since then, King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited the Red Cross centre coordinating humanitarian aid from Spain to Ukraine, and the King mentioned the conflict in many of his speeches.
Meanwhile, Princess Leonor has reappeared in a public event for the first time in six months, as she is currently in the last stretch of her first year at UWC Atlantic, a college in the UK where she is set to finish her high school education.
She returned home for the Easter holidays, and she is expected back at college on Sunday, 24th April. However, contrary to many expectations, she and the rest of the family will not be in Palma de Mallorca for their traditional Easter service, as it seems like the family spent their spring break in Madrid.
