Yesterday, Their Majesties King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain attended a memorial for the Barcelona and Cambrils terror attacks which took place last year on 17 August.
The King and Queen travelled to Barcelona alongside the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez for the memorial service at the Plaza de Cataluña.
Upon their arrival, Their Majesties were greeted by President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Quim Torra; the President of the Parliament of Catalonia, Roger Torrent; Mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau; and Government Delegate in the Autonomous Community, Teresa Cunillera.
The King and Queen also took time to show their solidarity again to the victims and the families of those killed while at the service.
Queen Letizia speaks to victims and family members at the event. © Casa de SM el Rey
Over 50 pupils volunteered to perform for the ceremony from the five municipal music schools and the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona, as well as the cant dels ocells, performed by five cellists, double bass and a half-grand piano who opened the performance. Additionally, there was a reading in the seven languages of the victims:Â Catalan, Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Italian and German.
The memorial event was organised and promoted by the City Council of Barcelona, the government of Catalonia and the government delegation in the Autonomous Community of Catalonia.
The families of the victims requested that Catalonian separatists did not turn this memorial service into a political event. However, separatists still gathered nearby to protest against King Felipe, and a banner was placed in the square that was written in English that said that His Majesty was not welcome in the area. Counter-protesters were also in the area to show their support for the monarchy and King Felipe.
On 17 August 2018, 15 were killed and over 100 injured after a terrorist ran over pedestrians with a van in the Las Ramblas district of Barcelona. Later, several terrorists were shot dead by Spanish police in the nearby tourist town of Cambrils. Police have stated that they were attempting to perpetrate a second attack in the popular tourist destination. Seven civilians were injured and one killed in the attack ISIS took credit for.
