Spain's King and Queen Begin First State Visit to Finland in 37 Years
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain arrived in Finland on Monday, Oct. 5, for a three-day state visit that runs through Oct. 7. Town & Country
It is the first state visit to Finland by a Spanish king and queen in 37 years. The last one was made by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in 1989.
The king and queen attended a departure ceremony in Madrid on Oct. 5 before flying out for the visit, according to Reuters footage of the send-off. Reuters Spain's minister of foreign affairs is traveling with them.
A state visit is the highest-ranking type of official visit between countries. It usually includes military honors, a formal welcome and a state banquet hosted by the head of state.
In Helsinki, that host is Finnish President Alexander Stubb. He and First Lady Suzanne Innes-Stubb are holding the official welcome ceremony for the Spanish king and queen outside the Presidential Palace in Helsinki.
The schedule covers two cities. The couple will spend time in Helsinki, the capital on Finland's southern coast, and in Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, the Arctic north of the country.
The Spanish Royal Household, the office that supports the king's official work, says the trip is meant to highlight and reinforce ties between Spain and Finland. Spanish Royal Household
What makes this stand out is the gap. Thirty-seven years spans a change of reign in Spain, Finland's entry into the European Union and, more recently, its entry into NATO. This week brings the two countries' monarch and president together in the same formal frame for the first time in a generation.
