Leonor, during her first official visit to Portugal: “I feel at home” | Spain

This Friday Lisbon was the scene of the first official trip abroad of the Princess Eleanora visit full of symbolism. The neighboring country was the first place they visited Ten years ago his parents, Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz, became kingsand it is a place with historical ties to Spain. “They spoke to me with affection, with joy (…), and how you always made them feel at home. “This is how I feel today,” Leonor said during her speech to the Portuguese president. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousaand other authorities in the country. “For our indelible and eternal alliance. Friend, more than friend, sister,” the president said, referring to Spain.

This Friday is a special visit. This is the first official trip of the Princess of Asturias. A premiere abroad that her father, King Felipe VI, made much younger – at 15 years old – and much further away – Cartagena de Indias (Colombia) – at the behest of Juan Carlos I. After being discharged with honors at the Barajas airport, the Princess arrived this morning in the Portuguese capital, accompanied by the head of the Royal House, Camilo Villarino, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, who attended the meeting just 24 hours ago. NATO summit in Washington (US).

The area of ​​the Jerónimos Monastery, the first stop, had already been prepared the day before with flags of both countries. “The visit of Princess Leonor to Portugal has been in the news, but it will be Friday when the illusion will be felt that she will have here the heir to the Spanish throne,” Carolina Carvalho, a journalist for the local newspaper, said by email on Thursday. ObserverIn fact, this Friday the newspaper is Publicone of the most influential in Portugal, headlined: “The visit to Portugal represents the confirmation of Leonor as the future Queen of Spain.”

Portugal is a comfortable destination for the princess; the journey takes less than 10 hours; and logical for the Borbón family. Portugal and Spain have had close historical ties for centuries (“I want to toast these beautiful relations,” the heiress said in Portuguese), but in addition, the kings have a beautiful relationship with the President of the Republic, the conservative Rebelo de Sousa , since he was inaugurated in 2016, but especially since he reconfirmed the office in 2021, according to sources at La Zarzuela. And that relationship has been staged with the affectionate greeting with which the 75-year-old president received Leonor on the tarmac of Figo Maduro airport.

And in Portugal “there is a special affection [a la Familia Real]says Carvalho, a specialist in Royal Houses. “The ties that unite the Spanish Royal Family with Portugal are deep. The Counts of Barcelona lived in Estoril for a long time and it was here that King Juan Carlos spent part of his childhood and youth,” he recalls.

A forty-year-old story that Leonor, however, ignored in her long-awaited speech at the Palace of Belém, an oasis on top of a hill overlooking the Tagus estuary, where the headquarters of the Portuguese presidency are located. “Portugal and Spain share a neighborhood that goes far beyond geographical proximity; it is a neighborhood that encompasses multiple dimensions and that translates into a sincere friendship and a deep and mutual respect between our two countries,” the Princess noted. The one who did allude to the Borbón family’s past was the host of the visit, who assured the Princess that “like her great-grandparents, her grandparents and her parents,” she can always count on the family’s “affection.” Portuguese.

Shortly before, Rebelo de Sousa placed on him the ribbon that symbolizes the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, the highest distinction of Portugal that King Felipe VI also enjoys. “I give it to you as a tribute to your highness, to the kingdom of Spain and to the friendship between the two countries,” said the Portuguese head of state.

The visit began at the Jerónimos Monastery with the floral offering at the tomb of the Portuguese writer and poet Luis de Camões, author of The Lusiadsconsidered one of the greats of Portuguese literature of the 16th century – when Portugal was still a monarchy – and who owes his name precisely to the most important distinctions in the Portuguese language. In the same temple also rest the remains of figures such as Fernando Pessoa and Vasco da Gama. And the bond between the Borbón family and Portugal is such that Infanta Pilar, sister of the king emeritus, married Luis Gómez-Acebo in the same convent in 1967. “And Infanta Margarita married in Estoril [a 27 kilómetros de Lisboa]where a statue stands in honor of his great-grandparents [Don Juan y María de las Mercedes]”, Carvalho adds.

Environment

As is customary for official or state visits, there is also a space dedicated to a specific topic, which shows the line of the Royal Family's agenda. In this case, Princess Leonor visited the Lisbon Oceanarium this afternoon, a modern building on the banks of the Tagus. There he discussed environmental and scientific issues with other young people of his generation.

He also participated in a round table on ocean defense, scientific expeditions and ocean policy. For a little over an hour, the Princess listened attentively to various scientific projects to improve the marine ecosystem.

At the end of the conversation, the Princess asked for the microphone and asked in excellent English about the current results of the projects that are being carried out in the Atlantic waters. One of the speakers explained that these projects are still in their infancy, but still have a long way to go.