Juan Carlos I is back in the spotlight after his decision to attend Elizabeth II’s funeral next Monday in London. The Royal House left it up to him to accept or not the invitation from the British monarchy, which had been sent to him in his capacity as former head of state. The presence of Juan Carlos de Borbón unsettled the Government which framed it in the private sphere and confirmed that the official Spanish delegation consisted of Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares. However, Queen Sofia will travel with the delegation on a Spanish Air Force plane this Sunday while the emeritus will do so himself.

Regarding accommodation, the Royal House has reported that the king and queen will be staying at the ambassador’s house to the UK while the emeritus will be staying at a hotel. “According to logistical and organizational reasons, HM Queen Sofia will stay at the same hotel as HM King Juan Carlos,” Zarzuela said in a note sent to reporters. Despite these differences, the queen emeritus will be present in the official delegation on the move as well as on the return to Madrid. What the Royal House needs is Queen Letizia to fly straight to New York, where she has an agenda starting on the 20th.

According to El País, Juan Carlos de Borbón has informed those around him of his intention to travel alone without stopping in Madrid or joining a Spanish delegation led by his son and who already had tickets for commercial flights from the United Arab Emirates. United States, although he did not rule out traveling with the Emirati delegation. The UK has advised international leaders not to travel to London by private jet because Heathrow airport would not be available for such planes and they would have to land at less busy ones, according to Politico. The Spanish delegation will do so on official military aircraft, as is customary for Heads of State and Presidents of Government. Zarzuela avoided providing details about Juan Carlos de Borbón’s trip while reporting on his accommodation in London.

Juan Carlos I’s decision to attend Isabel II’s funeral has special media relevance given that it may be the first picture of the kings with him in more than a year, even though they met for hours in Zarzuela during his visit to Spain in June. . However, Casa Real confirmed that for now there is no information on how the authorities will dispose of it, so it remains unclear that there will be a group photo. “HM Raja’s house currently has no details on the distribution and location of the authorities during the state funeral. All aspects of the organization and protocol relate exclusively to British authorities”, they pointed out. What the agenda revealed by Zarzuela included that both the current king and emeritus would attend a reception at Buckingham offered by Carlos III and a funeral at Westminster Abbey.

It was the Royal House itself that left the decision in its hands after receiving an invitation from the British Foreign Office to emeritus in her capacity as former head of state and wife. Juan Carlos I, who has a pending case in the UK for a harassment complaint by Corinna Larsen, responded decisively, putting Felipe VI in a difficult situation. The government has completely disassociated itself from the move and stated that it was a matter that was in a private sphere and that Spain would be represented exclusively by the current king. Moncloa has been profiled with this issue from the very first moment by leaving all decisions in Zarzuela’s hands, including the participation of the emeritus, which made the Executive very uncomfortable. “In this regard I can say that the Government is fully coordinating with the Royal House and we are looking after and caring for the delegation led by the Head of State and Queen Letizia,” Sánchez himself replied in an interview on TVE where he limited himself to saying about the emeritus presence that ” that is the business of King Juan Carlos.”