The King Emeritus will not attend the funeral of Elizabeth II

MADRID, 9 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The King Emeritus will not attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died this Thursday at the age of 96 after 70 years of reign, according to journalist Carlos Herrera, who has a close relationship with the former monarch.

"On the Spanish side, King Felipe VI will attend (...) King Juan Carlos will not attend," Herrera said in his program on Cadena COPE.

Don Juan Carlos, who has resided in the United Arab Emirates since August 2020, had a close relationship with the Queen of England, with whom he has blood ties.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has opted this Friday not to "speculate" about who will make up the Spanish representation at the funeral of Elizabeth II, which is expected to take place within ten days.

Albares has defended that we will have to wait to receive the invitation and find out the details of what the funeral will be like and has clarified that it will be then when the Government, together with the Royal House, will decide "the best representation".

Expressly asked if the King Emeritus could be part of said representation given his relationship with the Queen of England, the minister recalled that Felipe VI is now the head of state and that he "also represents family ties".

Both royal houses are linked by blood ties. The parents of Felipe VI, Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía, are great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria of England, as is Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.

In the case of Prince Felipe, his ties with Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía were even closer, especially with the latter, of whom he was the second uncle since King George I of Greece was his grandfather and the queen's great-grandfather. emerita

As regards Juan Carlos I, his grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, was a first cousin of the mother of the Duke of Edinburgh, Alicia of Battenberg.