Proclamation of Felipe VI; Suggestions & Musings

[Alondra]

I feel strange explaining these things, because nothing is really official yet so I feel like I could be giving you wrong information and messing things even more , but still...

About King Juan Carlos proclamation: the event where Sofia wears the hot pink dress was the day of the proclamation. There were no foreign guest at that ceremony.

The event where she wears the blue dress with mantilla was the Te Deum (mass) at San Jerónimo´s church. That was a different day, short after the proclamation, and there were many foreign guest that can be seen in the video posted by An Ard Ri. Afterwards, they went to the Royal Palace and had a balcony appearance (I assume there was a reception/lunch/dinner too).

What we can expect similar to this on Felipe´s proclamation:

Well, the ceremony of proclamation at the Parliament should be quite similar. We don´t know yet about the protocol, but uniforms/morning dress for men and long dress (no tiara and no orders) for ladies like that occasion is quite possible.

Before that ceremony can take place, King Juan Carlos must "stop being king", so he has to signed the Organic Law destined to that (that Law is what the parliament is now preparing and will be ready on June 18th, after the approvals of both Congress and Senate). According to the most recent information, that would take place in a short ceremony the same day that the proclamation, quite probably at the Royal Palace of Madrid (similar to the Dutch abdication). After that happens, Felipe will be already King of Spain, but he has to be inmediately sworn at the Parliament-and it is then when they will go to the Parliament and the ceremony of proclamation takes place.

Since everything happens the same day (probably the same morning), I don´t think we´ll see different clothes from one event to another.

And we are guessing that there will not be foreign guests that day, so if there is going to be some kind of mass, party or reception in order to receiving foreign dignataries, that will be on a different day like it happened with KJC and QS.

Hope this helps

Annie, I think you've done a wonderful job explaining JC proclamation and what to expect with Felipe's. Our monarchy is pretty austere when it comes to ceremonial - we are more about political governance than royal pageantry.

In relation to those asking for a lack of mass, Spain’s article 16.3 of the Constitution states that religious confession can’t be part of the estate. When Juan Carlos swore his own proclamation he did so under Franco’s laws at a time when there was no separation of church and estate. Felipe’s swearing as Prince of Asturias was a secular ceremony, and so will be this one.

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

I think your monarchy is quite spectacular when it comes to ceremony. Yesterday I saw the ceremonies for the Fallen at the Plaza de Lealtad in Madrid, it was all very beautiful, colourful and perfectly organized. The royal residences in Spain are unbelievably grand and impressive. The ceremonial for Ambassadors offering their Letters of Credence to the King, is one of the most impressive in the world.

Picture: an Ambassador arrives at the Royal Palace in Madrid, source: guardiareal.org
http://www.guardiareal.org/Galerias/multimedia/fotos/actos/img/embajad_grande.jpg

 

[Duc_et_Pair]

The monarchy and the Church are historically linked. Always have been and always will be. The Brits are wise enough to understand this, and have resisted all efforts to secularize their monarchy even though most of QEII's subjects have discarded the Anglican Church.

There is one major difference: Spain, but also the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, etc. are secular states. This means: the State has no religion. All citizens are free to practize a religion, or have no Faith at all, the State observes a neutrality.

The King of Spain (or of the Netherlands, or of Belgium, or of Sweden, etc.) are head of that secular state and are, like all citizens, free to practize a religion (or not). The Investiture of His Majesty however, is no religious ceremony but a civil act.

In the United Kingdom, the Church of England still has a privileged position as state church. The King of England still is the supreme governor of that Church. Archbishops and bishops from the Church of England reside in Parliament. The Church of England enjoys privileges other Churches do not have.

Note that King Felipe VI is absolutely free to attend Holy Mass or another religious activity. We have so often seen members of the Spanish royal family attending religious events. But THIS ceremony is purely based on the conditions laid down by the Constitution of Spain. That Constitution says that the King needs to make an allegation before Parliament and then is proclaimed before the Nation.

In Belgium, in Luxembourg, in Spain, all references to God have been scrapped from legal documents. In the Netherlands, where the same secularization has happened, the Government understands that it is maybe better to do the same, but they see it as "historic patrimonium" and have maintained these formulas.

So Willem-Alexander concluded his oath with: "So help me God Almighty!". His Laws start with the formula: "We, Willem-Alexander, by the grace of God King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Etc. Etc. Etc." or he writes formal letters to Parliament ending with: "And herewith We command You in the Lord's holy protection". On Dutch coins of 2 Euro still the motto "God Be With Us" can be read. Purists in Parliament want to remove these. Successive secular Governments have decided to keep these old formulas purely as unharmful tradition, not meaning that the State has a religion indeed.

 

[Alondra]

There is one major difference: Spain, but also the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, etc. are secular states. This means: the State has no religion. All citizens are free to practize a religion, or have no Faith at all, the State observes a neutrality.

The King of Spain (or of the Netherlands, or of Belgium, or of Sweden, etc.) are head of that secular state and are, like all citizens, free to practize a religion (or not). The Investiture of His Majesty however, is no religious ceremony but a civil act.

In the United Kingdom, the Church of England still has a privileged position as state church. The King of England still is the supreme governor of that Church. Archbishops and bishops from the Church of England reside in Parliament. The Church of England enjoys privileges other Churches do not have.

Note that King Felipe VI is absolutely free to attend Holy Mass or another religious activity. We have so often seen members of the Spanish royal family attending religious events. But THIS ceremony is purely based on the conditions laid down by the Constitution of Spain. That Constitution says that the King needs to make an allegation before Parliament and then is proclaimed before the Nation.

In Belgium, in Luxembourg, in Spain, all references to God have been scrapped from legal documents. In the Netherlands, where the same secularization has happened, the Government understands that it is maybe better to do the same, but they see it as "historic patrimonium" and have maintained these formulas.

So Willem-Alexander concluded his oath with: "So help me God Almighty!". His Laws start with the formula: "We, Willem-Alexander, by the grace of God King of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Etc. Etc. Etc." or he writes formal letters to Parliament ending with: "And herewith We command You in the Lord's holy protection". On Dutch coins of 2 Euro still the motto "God Be With Us" can be read. Purists in Parliament want to remove these. Successive secular Governments have decided to keep these old formulas purely as unharmful tradition, not meaning that the State has a religion indeed.

Superb post. Thanks.

 

[PrincessofEurope]

I hope they release new formal portraits of the couple - in day wear and also tiara and orders. A nice of the Infantas as well with their parents to mark the occassion.

 

[Tilia C.]

New portraits would be nice indeed. There really should be at least one formal portrait of the new king and queen in gala wear with tiara and orders. It has never been done for the Asturias couple.

I don't think that they will highlight the Infantas. The NOOS case is still too fresh.

 

[Spheno]

New portraits would be nice indeed. There really should be at least one formal portrait of the new king and queen in gala wear with tiara and orders. It has never been done for the Asturias couple.

I don't think that they will highlight the Infantas. The NOOS case is still too fresh.

little Infantas

 

[Tilia C.]

little Infantas

Stupid me!

 

[Mbruno]

I hope the future King will attend a Mass in his private chapel before the civil ceremony of the accession.

Prince Felipe got married in a public Catholic ceremony. It was not a private event at the palace's chapel, but rather a state event with foreign heads of state and government in attendance. The 1979 Spanish constitution was already in force back then, but no one claimed a public religious wedding for the heir apparent and his bride would be unconstitutional.

I don't see why a public thanksgiving mass to mark the new Spanish king's accession would be any different now. Franly, I think the Spanish government is making a mistake.

Of course, a thanksgiving mass does not exclude or replace the secular proclamation ceremony in the Cortes as mandated by the constitution, in the same way Prince Felipe's religious wedding ceremony was no substitute for a civil marriage as required by law. In Belgium, for example, which is also a secular state, King Philippe took the constitutional oath in Parliament as the Belgian constitution requires, but also attended a Te Deum mass at the Brussels cathedral before that. There was no controversy, as there appears to be now in Spain.

 

[Jacknch]

King Juan Carlos abdication: 'Austere coronation' is wasted opportunity say royalists - Telegraph

 

[Cory]

Prince Felipe got married in a public Catholic ceremony. It was not a private event at the palace's chapel, but rather a state event with foreign heads of state and government in attendance. The 1979 Spanish constitution was already in force back then, but no one claimed a public religious wedding for the heir apparent and his bride would be unconstitutional.

I don't see why a public thanksgiving mass to mark the new Spanish king's accession would be any different now. Franly, I think the Spanish government is making a mistake.

Of course, a thanksgiving mass does not exclude or replace the secular proclamation ceremony in the Cortes as mandated by the constitution, in the same way Prince Felipe's religious wedding ceremony was no substitute for a civil marriage as required by law. In Belgium, for example, which is also a secular state, King Philippe took the constitutional oath in Parliament as the Belgian constitution requires, but also attended a Te Deum mass at the Brussels cathedral before that. There was no controversy, as there appears to be now in Spain.

I totally agree with you.

 

[Cory]

"Fervent royalists in Spain have criticised plans for an "austere" coronation of Prince Felipe - and complain that Spain is wasting an opportunity to project a positive image of the nation to a worldwide audience.
When the prince is crowned next week, following the abdication of King Juan Carlos, it will be a low-key ceremony watched only by politicians in Spain's parliament.
No official plans have yet been announced for the coronation, which looks likely to happen on June 19, but palace and government spokesmen have said that due to the short notice no foreign dignitaries will be invited to the ceremony.
Instead King Felipe VI will take the throne after a simple proclamation made in front of politicians from both houses in Spain's parliament."

 

[ANNIE_S]

You see? Welcome to Spain, the country where everybody needs to complain about something

People criticising the waste, people that think that the waste is not enough... and the next day to the proclamation anybody will be pleased

 

[princess gertrude]

I do hope there is some sort of mass. It doesn't have to be some huge event but a simple mass and some prayers.

 

[lula]

The proclamation of Felipe VI as King of Spain will be next Thursday at 10.30 am in the Congress of Deputies.

Abdicaci?n De Don Juan Carlos - La proclamaci?n de Felipe VI ser? el jueves 19 a las 10.30 horas en el Congreso - ABC.es

 

[principessa]

Will the abdication and the proclamation be broadcasted by tv-stations?

 

[An Ard Ri]

The rarely seen Spanish Crown and Sceptre will be displayed at Felipe VI's Proclamation Ceremony next week

La corona y el cetro, las insignias reales ante las que Felipe VI será proclamado Rey

 

[Charlotte_Aster]

Will the abdication and the proclamation be broadcasted by tv-stations?

For the viewers in Germany:
At the moment neither ZDF nor ARD is scheduled to broadcast the inauguration. However, either FDZ or ARd always covered these types of state events, such as the inauguration in the Netherlands, in Belgium, all the important royal weddings etc. So I'm guessing they will change the programme in the coming days. On 19th at 10 o'clock the Corpus Christi Mess is scheduled to be broadcasted in ARD.

However, you can always watch the ceremony online via RTVE.

 

[Esmerelda]

Will the abdication and the proclamation be broadcasted by tv-stations?

Hopefully there'll also be catchup tv for people who aren't home during the day!

 

[Cory]

I do not want to watch such an event of a man who did not want to start his reign with a Mass forgetting the history of Spain and of his own Family.

 

[casualfan]

I do not want to watch such an event of a man who did not want to start his reign with a Mass forgetting the history of Spain and of his own Family.

This level of passive aggression is reminding me of my great-aunts...

The fact is that times do change, and the situation in Spain right now appears tenuous at best, thanks at least in some part to the "we've done things this way forever" attitude demonstrated by Juan Carlos.

Even the conference of bishops doesn't appear to have a problem with this...

 

[muriel]

I do not want to watch such an event of a man who did not want to start his reign with a Mass forgetting the history of Spain and of his own Family.

We all make our personal choices, and I am sure you will make one that is best for you. That said, I have no doubt the Spanish court and government would have carefully considered the matter of whether or not to have a Mass associated with the Proclamation, and then arrived at their decision.

 

[Marengo]

I think that it is a wise decision to skip the public mass. In a democratic country the 'power' derives from the people, the people elect parlament and the parlament will have sanctioned the instalment. So it seems a correct procedure. If the king and queen feel the need to ask for help from a devine power they can attend a private service. Both the Dutch as the Belgian enthronements were secular political events too.

 

[Jacknch]

I do not want to watch such an event of a man who did not want to start his reign with a Mass forgetting the history of Spain and of his own Family.

But he may go to a nice, quiet, private mass instead on the same morning or the day before so you might miss the event for no reason!

 

[Mbruno]

I think that it is a wise decision to skip the public mass. In a democratic country the 'power' derives from the people, the people elect parlament and the parlament will have sanctioned the instalment. So it seems a correct procedure. If the king and queen feel the need to ask for help from a devine power they can attend a private service. Both the Dutch as the Belgian enthronements were secular political events too.

Nevertheless, King Philippe did attend a Te Deum mass in Brussels before being sworn in the Belgian parliament. As I said, I don't see why the two events should be incompatible.

The Netherlands on the other hand are not directly comparable to other monarchies as far as the sovereign's inauguration is concerned because of several special circumstances. First, the majority (over 50 %) of the Dutch people are now non-religious or atheist, and those who are religious are more or less evenly divided between Protestants and Catholics. Threre is no identifiable "national church" as the Lutheran church in Scandinavia, the Anglican church in England, or the Catholic church in Spain and Belgium. Second, the Dutch reformed church, to which the Dutch royal familiy traditionally belongs, is a presbyterian church with no presiding bishop or higher authority that could crown the sovereign and, furthermore, in the Calvinist tradition, favo(u)rs strict separation between Church and State.

 

[Stefan]

Nevertheless, King Philippe did attend a Te Deum mass in Brussels before being sworn in the Belgian parliament. As I said, I don't see why the two events should be incompatible.

But the Te Deum was a Part of the yearly National Day celebrations. As was the Military parade in the afternoon. At the enhtronement of King Albert II. in 1993 there neither a Te Deum and a Military Parade.

 

[greentealatte]

It's bizarre to me to have a monarchy without having a proper ascension ceremony. A coronation ceremony would help re-connect Spain with its former Spanish colonies, remnants of the Spanish monarchy are the last vestiges of the Spanish Empire in the former colonies.

Its possible to have royal ceremonies steeped in religious tradition while having a secular constitution, but its very complicated. The Spanish constitution will have to make provisions for the Spanish Royal Household exempting it from laws that restrict it from conducting royal ceremonies (it can be reasoned as part of preserving and protecting heritage). But I don't think its feasible with Spain given its history and current situation, but maybe in the future.

There are ways to get around the whole issue of secularism and tradition but Spain will require a stable government and economy before it can happen.

 

[COUNTESS]

I do not want to watch such an event of a man who did not want to start his reign with a Mass forgetting the history of Spain and of his own Family.

There is a separation of Church and State in Spain. He is doing the right thing. As for the church, historically, in Spain, it is very often black and ugly. Filipe will do fine.

 

[Livia]

Spain is Spain, Belgium is Belgium and The Netherlands are The Netherlands, three different countries.

Spanish Constitution. Chapter II:

Article 16

1. Freedom of ideology, religion and worship of individuals and communities is guaranteed, with no other restriction on their expression than may be necessary to maintain public order as protected by law.
2. No one may be compelled to make statements regarding his religion, beliefs or ideologies.
3. There shall be no State religion. The public authorities shall take the religious beliefs of Spanish society into account and shall consequently maintain appropriate cooperation with the Catholic Church and the other confessions.
​

 

[Winnie]

But he may go to a nice, quiet, private mass instead on the same morning or the day before so you might miss the event for no reason!

Yes, you are correct. Plus, a truely religious person doesn't have to have the entire world know exactly when he is praying to his God. Quite a personal thing, in my opinion.