parades, concerts and outings with Leonor and Sofía

Big week in Zarzuela. Next Wednesday, June 19, marks ten years since the proclamation of Felipe VI as king and the Royal House has prepared several institutional and recreational activities to celebrate it in style. The protagonists, of course, will be the monarch and his wife, Mrs. Joybut his daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofiaalready on vacation, will also participate in the agenda, which includes an event by the sisters without their parents.

The celebrations start on Wednesday with a militar parade in which the three Armies, the Civil Guard and the Royal Guard will participate. The route will advance along Madrid’s Calle Mayor to the Patio de la Armería. The kings and their daughters will witness the handover from the balcony of the Royal Palace, in front of the Almudena Cathedral, the same one from which they greeted that June 19, 2014, accompanied then by the emeritus Juan Carlos and Sofía.

They will then open the imposing Hall of Columns, where the abdication of Juan Carlos I took place and where Princess Leonor received the Golden Fleece from her father on January 30, 2018. The kings and their daughters, accompanied by the president of the Government and representatives of all powers of the State, will carry out the imposition of medals of the Order of Civil Merit on citizens throughout the country. It will be the fourth time that Felipe VI carries out this recognition, as he did so in 2015, on the first anniversary of his proclamation; in 2019, after five years; and in 2021 to honor frontline workers during the covid-19 pandemic. Behind the monarch’s speech (the only one planned for the celebrations), they will all have lunch together in the Gala Dining Room.

The program continues with a concert at sunset in the Plaza de Oriente by the Royal Guard band and with the special participation of the Lebanese violinist Ara Malikian. At the same time, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía, without her parents, are scheduled to perform a tour of the Royal Collections Gallery, attached to the Royal Palace, along with a group of 40 young people between 17 and 20 years old who once won the contest ‘What is a king for you?’. They will also have the support and advice of the writer María Dueñas, author of best-sellers such as The time between seams o The captain’s daughters.

And to finish the day, a videomapping at 11 p.m. on the façade of the palace, four minutes long and with the tenth anniversary of the reign as the common thread.

The next day, Thursday the 20th, Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, now without their daughters, will inaugurate the Royal Palace at the Felipe VI exhibition 2014-2024, composed of about 20 photographs of the monarch that cover a decade of history of the Crown of Spain. This exhibition is organized by National Heritage and the Provincial Council of Grandeza, and will be open to the public until October 20. Then, you will visit several cities in Spain. On the other hand, the Madrid City Council is going to decorate the streets of the city center and public buildings, as well as municipal buses, with banners and images of the king.