Spain's King Felipe and Queen Letizia Send Solidarity to Colombia After Devastating Earthquake
A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck Colombia on August 11, 2026, killing at least 164 people and injuring thousands, with the death toll expected to rise. King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain responded with a message of condolence posted on the Spanish royal household's official X account: "We wish to convey to the Colombian people our deepest solidarity and our full support during these very difficult times" (Town & Country).
The quake landed with particular timing. Just four days earlier, King Felipe had been in Cali, Colombia, for the inauguration of the country's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing former lawyer. The August 7 ceremony was Felipe's sixth time attending a Colombian presidential inauguration — his first was in 1998 — and part of an institutional role he has performed across Latin America since 1996, when he still held the title Prince of Asturias, the traditional designation for the Spanish heir apparent (Casa Real).
Colombia's new president addressed the disaster directly. De la Espriella said the government would not leave people alone and would attend to them with full determination, according to the Associated Press.
The earthquake also struck a region already reeling. Less than two months earlier, two back-to-back earthquakes devastated neighboring Venezuela, killing more than 6,300 people. After that disaster, Queen Letizia said Spain had already offered its help and was waiting for the full operation to get underway to assist in the coming weeks (Hola, published June 25, 2026).
Spain's royal household — known as Casa Real — operates the official website casareal.es, where royal messages, agendas, and communications are published in sections covering the royal family's activities, the modern monarchy, and a press area. The household's official agenda confirmed Felipe's attendance at the inauguration ceremony in Santiago de Cali on August 7.
The Spanish monarchy maintains deep institutional ties to Latin America, rooted in shared history and language, and Felipe's presence at presidential inaugurations is a standing part of that relationship. His trip to Cali last week placed him in the country just days before it faced one of its deadliest natural disasters in recent memory.
Buckingham Palace and the British royal family have not publicly commented on the Colombia earthquake. Spain's response, by contrast, was immediate — a royal message posted within hours, from a king who had just left the country himself.
