Ten years of reign of Felipe VI

In the ten years since Don Felipe was proclaimed King on June 19, the members of the Royal Family as a whole – the King and Queen, their two daughters as well as the emeritus King and Queen, although Don Juan Carlos retired from public life in June 2019 – have carried out a total of 3.984 activities until May 31.

More than 160 trips outside Spain, more than 900 speeches given and nearly 4.000 activities. That is the balance of the ten years of reign of Felipe VI and Queen Letizia whose agenda of events was not even stopped by the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020 and the start of 2021.

The bulk of these falls on Don Felipe and Doña Letizia, both together and separately, while Queen Sofía maintains a much less frequent agenda of events and in the case of the Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía, this is very scarce, although increasingly incipient, especially with regard to the heir to the throne.

The total activities include 3.208 hearings, in which more than 25.000 people have been received, which represents an average of 321 hearings per year and 2.500 people received, among them leaders and international leaders (17,6%), although those of an institutional nature predominated (35,8%).

The pace of the Royal Family’s activities did not stop during the pandemic, although they then had to be adapted to the circumstances and measures dictated by the health authorities. Thus in 2020 there were 360 ​​activities, just one less than a year before, while in 2021 they rose to 2022. In this decade, the year with the most activities by members of the Royal Family was 2022, with 453.

By category, 27,1% of the activities were institutional in nature; 16,1% had to do with international relations; 13,8% with culture; 10,4% with the economy; 7,5% solidarity type; and 6% defence, among others.

MORE THAN 160 TO MORE THAN 60 COUNTRIES

As far as travel is concerned, in total the King and Queen have made jointly or separately a total of 161 trips abroad to more than 60 countries, according to data provided by Zarzuela on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the proclamation.

These trips include the monarch’s attendance at the inaugurations of Ibero-American leaders, as well as trips to learn about the work of the Spanish Cooperation that Queen Letizia has been carrying out since 2015, alternating between Ibero-American and African countries, among others.

Of the total, 16 were state trips, with at least one per year with the exception of 2014, when the reign began in the middle of the year, and in 2020, as a consequence of the pandemic. In contrast, in 2019 a total of four state trips were made, something quite unusual. In 2023 the King and Queen made their first state trip to an African country, Angola.

Furthermore, in these ten years there have been a total of 91 visits by foreign heads of state, including twelve state visits. Mainly Ibero-American and European leaders have paraded through Madrid, but there have also been visits from African and Asian leaders.

ALMOST 750 SPEECHES OF THE KING

Both their trips abroad, as well as those that the King and Queen make throughout the national geography, usually include speeches. According to Zarzuela, Felipe VI has made nearly 750 speeches, with 2015 being the year in which he had the most interventions of this type, with 101.

These speeches include the ten he gave on Christmas Eve, undoubtedly the most important of all those he makes throughout the year and the most anticipated. We must also include here the message that he addressed to the Spanish people on October 3, 2017, two days after the independence referendum in Catalonia.

Regarding the subject, 205 have had to do with international relations, that is, they have occurred within the framework of their trips outside Spain or when a foreign representative has been received here.

In addition, he has held 154 of an economic nature within the framework of his frequent attendance at business and commercial meetings, as well as 110 of an institutional nature and 15 in events related to the field of defence, since the monarch is also Captain General of the Armies and as such participates in some military events.

As for Doña Letizia, she has made more than 120 speeches since she has been Queen. Like the King, 2015 was the most prolific year, with 23. Regarding the themes, in his case those related to health (42), solidarity (40) and culture (11) predominate.

Zarzuela also wanted to include Princess Leonor in this list, with 15. The heir to the throne gave her first public speeches in 2019 on the occasion of the delivery of the Princess of Asturias and Princess of Girona awards, which are precisely named after the titles she holds. At the moment, 2023 has been the year in which she has made the most speeches, with four.

It is worth remembering that, in addition to the delivery of the aforementioned awards, on October 31 she reached adulthood and swore the Constitution before the Cortes. Later, in an event at the Royal Palace in which the King, her father, gave her the necklace of the Order of Carlos III, Princess Leonor gave what has been her most important speech to date due to the significance of that day for her and for the continuity of the Crown.