Spanish State Visit to the UK: Another Postponement?

The long-awaited state visit by King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain to the United Kingdom is in jeopardy once again, after the British Prime Minister this morning announced a snap general election to be held on June 8 – the last day of the scheduled state visit.

While the election needs to be approved by parliament, it is unlikely to be knocked back. This would mean that the Spanish King and Queen would be visiting the country at the tail-end of an election campaign, and actually be in the country on election day – hardly an ideal situation. Instead, the British government will likely request a (second) postponement of the visit to avoid the perception the sitting Conservatives are using the royal visit to their advantage politically.

The state visit was originally scheduled to take place in March 2016, however was postponed by the Spanish side after a government could not be formed following elections in December 2015.

Nothing has been confirmed thus far (and it won’t until the elections have been confirmed), but some may say the Spanish-UK State Visit has a curse over its head…

Filed under Spain, The United Kingdom
Tagged Elections, Felipe VI of Spain, Government, Prime Minister May of the United Kingdom, Queen Letizia of Spain, State Visit.

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