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CoronavirusSpain

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain end their tour urging unity

King Felipe and Queen Letizia

The King of Spain has called for unity and solidarity across the country as his tour of different regions comes to an end. Speaking in Asturias, the principality held by the heir to the Spanish throne, King Felipe urged everyone in Spain to come together as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Felipe VI, along with Queen Letizia, has spent the past month visiting every region of Spain to show support for the economy, social enterprises and tourism as the country emerges from lockdown. The visits came to an end in Asturias, the region where Queen Letizia was born, on July 30th 2020.

The final day of the tour began in Gijon where, after formal welcomes, the royal visitors were shown the waste management system that covers all of Asturias. Felipe and Letizia, in high vis jackets as well as their face masks, were given an overview of the facilities which helped keep hospitals and schools across Asturias going during the strictest days of the lockdown.

During the visit, King Felipe spoke of the challenges brought by the pandemic and called for unity. He said it was clear that overcoming the economic impact of the pandemic wouldn’t be easy but added ”this difficulty requires us all to make a further effort to progress with unity, responsibility and solidarity”.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia
King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain look to the horizon as they visit Asturias
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)

From there, the couple headed to the famous sculpture ”Elogio del Horizonte”, a name which translates as ”In Praise of the Horizon”. The concrete creation faces the sea and is designed to be viewed from both inside and out. The royal visit marked the 30th anniversary of the unveiling of the sculpture.

Their walk to the sculpture gave them a chance to speak to some among the small crowd of wellwishers who had gathered to see them.

The final stop on this final day was at the Fernando Alonso Museum and Circuit in La Llanera, set up by the double Formula One World Champion. It houses memorabilia from his career so far. Fernando Alonso, along with his parents, welcomed the Spanish royals to the centre. He later posted on Instagram that he was

King Felipe and Queen Letizia were given an overview of the items on show and then joined children for one of the regular talks and demonstrations on road safety that take place at the centre.

The tour of Spain has taken the royals to all seventeen autonomous regions of the country where they have heard about efforts to boost the economy and tourism in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

About author

Lydia Starbuck is Jubilee and Associate Editor at Royal Central and the main producer and presenter of the Royal Central Podcast and Royal Central Extra. Lydia is also a pen name of June Woolerton who is a journalist and writer with over twenty years experience in TV, radio, print and online. Her latest book, A History of British Royal Jubilees, is out now. Her new book, The Mysterious Death of Katherine Parr, will be published in March 2024. June is an award winning reporter, producer and editor. She's appeared on outlets including BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Local Radio and has also helped set up a commercial radio station. June is also an accomplished writer with a wide range of material published online and in print. She is the author of two novels, published as e-books. She is also a marriage registrar and ceremony celebrant.