King Felipe and Queen Letizia attend funeral for Urda train crash victims

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain attended a funeral mass at Toledo Cathedral for the victims of the Urda train crash. The service paid tribute to 69 people who lost their lives, according to Hello! Magazine.

The mass was presided over by Francisco Cerro, Archbishop of Toledo, the senior Catholic clergyman for the city and its surrounding area. Five bishops from Castilla-La Mancha, the region of central Spain that includes Toledo, also attended. A bishop is a senior priest who oversees a diocese, or church district.

The royal couple also visited the University Hospital of Toledo to meet victims of the crash and their families. At the cathedral, they met relatives of those who died and people who were injured.

Spain's King is head of state under the 1978 constitution, a role that is largely ceremonial and does not include running the government. Visits to hospitals and grieving families after a disaster are a regular part of how the Crown shows public support in difficult moments.

The Urda crash is one of the most serious rail tragedies in the region in recent memory, and the service in Toledo gave families a public place to mourn together.