Marlaska does not value that Juan Carlos I goes to the funeral of Isabel II: the Kings are the "true" representation of Spain

Albares emphasizes that the emeritus has come for a "personal invitation"

MADRID, 19 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has avoided this Monday assessing the presence of Juan Carlos I at the funeral in London of Elizabeth II and has stressed that it is the current king and queen, Felipe VI and Letizia, who hold the "true and certain" of the representation of Spain.

"Whoever represents the true and certain image of Spain is that of King Felipe VI and Letizia," Grande-Marlaska said in an interview on Antena 3's 'Espejo Público', collected by Europa Press.

When asked if the Government is bothered by the presence of the King Emeritus, who yesterday could be seen accompanied by Queen Sofía, the Minister of the Interior has limited himself to answering that any other invitation to the funeral is "private" and that , therefore, "should not be subject to evaluation by the Government".

Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía arrived yesterday together at the reception offered by King Charles III of England at Buckingham Palace to the hundreds of leaders and dignitaries attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II this Monday at Westminster Abbey.

The King Emeritus has traveled by his own means from the United Arab Emirates --where he has resided since August 2020-- to the United Kingdom, the only country where he still has an open judicial front due to the lawsuit by Corinna Larsen, who accuses him of harassment and claims financial compensation for it.

From London, where he accompanied the King and Queen to the funeral, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has also insisted that it is Felipe VI who represents Spain at the funeral, as head of state, while the emeritus has attended to "an invitation in a personal capacity".

On the other hand, the minister has been convinced that in the "new stage of leadership" the United Kingdom begins with King Charles III and the new prime minister, Liz Truss, relations with Spain "will continue to be as close as in the earlier stage."

Regarding the new monarch, he has considered that he will surely make "a series of adaptations" to "introduce the British crown in the 21st century."

Lastly, Albares made it clear that what Spain wants is "the closest relationship" with the United Kingdom in all areas, while indicating that both governments agree on the aspiration to create a zone of common prosperity in the Gibraltar field.