The real reason for the absence of Felipe VI and Queen Letizia at the reopening of Notre Dame

The protocol prevents the King from attending official events without the authorization and endorsement of the Executive. The Government thus forced the absence of the Kings to Notre Dame: the rejection of the Minister of Culture, who attended a function in Madrid as part of his personal and family agenda, conditioned the absence of the Kings. The Monarch cannot attend an event of these characteristics if a member of the Government is not present, and the only representative of the Executive invited, who did not delegate, was Urtasun.

The absence of the Kings of Spain at the reopening ceremony of the Notre Dame Cathedral, held last Saturday in Paris, has generated controversy in the Spanish political sphere, especially after no explanations were offered by the Royal Family or the Government. The situation has provoked harsh criticism from the Popular Party, whose leader, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, He described the lack of official representation in an event of such relevance as “a real shame for our country.”

The Elysée had sent non-delegable invitations for the event to the Royal Family and the Ministry of Culture, but Ernest Urtasun, who belongs to the Sumar coalition, decided to decline the invitation for “family reasons.” That Saturday, at the same time that the ceremony was being held in Paris, Urtasun attended a function in Madrid. The minister’s refusal conditioned the Government’s response, since, According to protocol, the King cannot attend official events without the authorization and endorsement of the Executive. On this occasion, when Urtasun declined the invitationthe Royal House was forced not to send the Kings to the ceremony, although no public statement was issued from Zarzuela about the reasons behind this decision. Nor was the possibility of another member of the royal family, such as Queen Sofia, representing Spain, raised.

The invitations to the Royal House and Urtasun were “non-transferable”, according to Foreign Affairs

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the invitations, both for the Royal Family and the Minister of Culture, were “non-transferable.” In this way, Spain was left without official representation at the ceremony, a situation that was even more striking given the presence of representatives of other European royal houses, such as those of Belgium, Luxembourg and Monaco, as well as senior international leaders such as the president US elect Donald Trump, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and several European leaders. The rejection of Urtasun’s invitation has been interpreted as a political decision, which has left Spain without the possibility of showing its support for such a symbolic event for Europe and the Catholic world. The absence of the Kings at the Notre Dame ceremony has remained at the center of the political debate, with the Popular Party harshly criticizing the Government’s attitude and highlighting that, in these types of events, Spain should be adequately represented.