Accession during the proclamation ceremony at the
Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, 19 June 2014.On 2 June 2014, King Juan Carlos announced his intent to
abdicate in Felipe's favor. As required by the
Constitution of Spain, the
Council of Ministers began deliberations the following day on an
organic law to give effect to the abdication. The law had to be passed by a majority of all members of the
Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the
Cortes Generales. According to
Jesús Posada, the
president of the Congress of Deputies, Felipe could be proclaimed king as early as 18 June. On 4 June,
El País of Madrid reported that Felipe would indeed be proclaimed king on 18 June. he was formally sworn in and proclaimed king in a low-key ceremony held in the Cortes. He swore to uphold the Constitution before formally being proclaimed king by Posada. Upon his accession, he became the youngest monarch in Europe, being nine months younger than King
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. , at direct request of prime minister
Mariano Rajoy (18 July 2014) As king, Felipe has fairly extensive
reserve powers on paper. He is the guardian of the Constitution and is responsible for ensuring it is obeyed and followed. It was expected that he would follow his father's practice of taking a mostly ceremonial and representative role, acting largely on the advice of the government. He indicated as much in a speech to the Cortes on the day of his enthronement, saying that he would be "a loyal head of state who is ready to listen and understand, warn and advise as well as to defend the public interest at all times". According to an
El Mundo newspaper poll, Felipe had a greater approval than his father prior to his reign. During a poll conducted in 2025, Felipe VI gained approval of some 44% of the respondents; 21% voiced their disapproval and 35% remained neutral. The approval rate was visibly higher among females than among males; it was the highest in Andalusia, and the lowest in Catalonia. The poll made public in 2026 revealed that on a scale from 0 to 10, Felipe VI gained an average rate of 6.1; PP voters rated him at 7.9, PSOE voters at 6.5, VOX voters at 5.5 and Podemos/Sumar voters at 4.9. On 23 June 2014, he appointed his private secretary since 1995,
Jaime Alfonsín, as Private Secretary to the King. Two days later, he also appointed
José Manuel de Zuleta y Alejandro, 14th
duke of Abrantes, as Private Secretary to the Queen. On 18 July, the new king chaired his first meeting of the
Council of Ministers.
Household reforms During his ascension speech, Felipe pledged a "renewed monarchy for a new time". A few days later after this, Felipe and Letizia became the first Spanish monarchs to receive and recognize
LGBT organisations at the Palace. Felipe also changed the protocol in order to allow people to take the oath of office without a crucifix or Bible. This did not mean, in any way, a change in his relations with the
Catholic Church or religion, in fact, on their first overseas trip as king and queen, Felipe VI and Letizia met
Pope Francis in the
Apostolic Palace on 30 June 2014. They subsequently met with
Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Under-Secretary for Relations with States
Antoine Camilleri. The visit followed one by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía on 28 April. at the
Waldorf Astoria New York. 2014. The king also established a difference between the
royal family and the King's family, leaving his sisters and their descendants outside the royal family and, therefore, not carrying out institutional representation of the
Crown (although they do it occasionally). In July 2014, the king banned the royal family from working outside the
Royal Household and he established an external audit made by the
Office of the Comptroller General of the State. Following orders from the king, since 1 January 2015, the Spanish royal family cannot accept "expensive gifts" when "they exceed social or courtesy uses". In February 2015, Felipe announced he would cut his annual salary by 20% as a result of the economic recession and hardships continuing to hamper Spain. In June 2015, Felipe VI stripped his sister,
Infanta Cristina, of her royal title of
Duchess of Palma de Mallorca, after the tax fraud allegations surrounding her and her husband,
Iñaki Urdangarín. While her husband was eventually sentenced to six years in prison, she was acquitted of all charges. In 2017, the Crown opened for the first time the gardens of the royal family's vacation palace, the
Marivent Palace, at the request of the regional government of the
Balearic Islands. The public can enjoy the gardens as long as the royal family is not there. Villarino replaced
Jaime Alfonsín, private secretary to Felipe for almost 30 years, both as prince and king. Alfonsin remains in the Household as private counselor. replacing the
duke of Abrantes. At the end of 2024, the king concluded the renewal of the senior positions of his Household, appointing two other women: parliamentary clerk Mercedes Araújo Díaz de Terán was appointed Secretary-General; diplomat Carmen Castiella Ruiz de Velasco was appointed Diplomatic Counselor.
2020 royal finances controversy On 15 March 2020, following the revelation in
The Daily Telegraph that Felipe VI appeared as second beneficiary (after his father) of the Lucum Foundation, the entity on the receiving end of a €65 million donation by
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia, the
Royal Household issued a statement declaring (a) that Felipe VI would renounce any inheritance from his father to which he could be entitled, and (b) that Juan Carlos would lose his public stipend from the part of the
General State Budget dedicated to the Royal Household. The Royal Household also implied that Felipe VI already had prior knowledge of the Lucum Foundation and his condition as beneficiary of the latter since April 2019. After this controversy, in April 2022 the
Council of Ministers approved a Royal Decree elaborated by the
Royal Household that puts the King's house completely under the 2013 Transparency Act and the 2015 Senior Officials Act. This implies, on the one hand, a greater control of the Crown's finances, since the
Court of Auditors will be able to audit its accounts; on the other hand, the disclosure of the wealth of the king and of the senior officials of the Household. On 25 April 2022, in a move towards greater transparency, Felipe VI made public his personal assets for the first time, revealing them to be valued at 2.6 million
euros (
US$2.8 million). The Spanish royal palace stated that his wealth is in savings, current accounts and securities, as well as art, antiques and jewelry; and that he has no real estate or financial dealings abroad. It also noted that Felipe VI had paid tax on all his financial earnings. This amount makes him one of the
least wealthy monarchs in the world, despite previous estimates of his father
Juan Carlos I's wealth being estimated between $2–2.3 billion.
National politics Dissolution of Parliament , 2017 The
elections in 2015 resulted in no party winning enough seats to form a government. No agreements with the different parties were successful. After months of talks with the different party leaders, and with there being no apparent candidate in a position of support in forming a government, the king issued a royal decree dissolving parliament with
new elections being called in June. This marked the first time since the transition to democracy that an election was called under Article 99.5 of the
Constitution, wherein the initiative for issuing the dissolution of the Cortes belonged to the King and not to the Prime Minister. After the second elections, some socialist MPs abstained in order to make it easy for the conservative prime minister,
Mariano Rajoy, to form a new government. The king swore in the new cabinet on 4 November 2016.
Catalan independence referendum On 3 October 2017, as huge protest rallies and a general strike took place in Catalonia following the
2017 Catalan independence referendum that was deemed illegal by Spanish authorities, Felipe delivered an unusually strongly worded televised address, watched by more than 12 million people across the country, in which he condemned the actions of the referendum organizers for acting "outside the law", accusing them of "unacceptable disloyalty" and of "eroding the harmony and co-existence within Catalan society itself". He also warned the referendum could put the economy of the entire north-east region of Spain at risk. Reactions to Felipe's speech were mixed. Party officials from the
PP,
PSOE and
Ciudadanos applauded the King's "commitment to legality" and the "defense of the Constitution, the [regional]
Statute, the rule of law and the territorial integrity of Spain", whereas leaders from
Unidos Podemos and
Catalunya en Comú criticized it "as unworthy as it was irresponsible", paving the way for a harsh intervention of the Catalan autonomy. Some PSOE leaders were upset that the King had not made any call to understanding or dialogue between the Spanish and Catalan governments. After the speech, where Felipe ordered the "legitimate powers of the State" to ensure "constitutional order", the Spanish government started the process to apply
article 155 of the Constitution, which gives special powers to the central government to intervene in a Spanish region. On 27 October 2017, the
Spanish Senate approved government proposal to impose direct rule in the region with the support of conservative and socialist votes. The Spanish government dismissed all Catalan authorities, dissolved the regional parliament and called for
early elections in 2017.
Conservative government fall and political instability in 2020 In May 2018, the
Audiencia Nacional issued a ruling finding the ruling party,
People's Party, guilty as beneficiary of some corruption cases. The left-wing opposition, led by socialist
Pedro Sánchez, called for a
vote of no confidence against the conservative prime minister. The
Congress of Deputies approved the motion on 1 June 2018, and the King appointed Sánchez as new prime minister on 2 June. The socialist minority government lasted for a year and a half, and fell in February 2019 after the government failed to pass the budget. Although the Socialists won the
April 2019 general election, the political scenario was left wide open. The socialist prime minister refused to agree with the leaders of left-wing populist
Podemos, and the King dissolved Parliament. The
November general election had the same result as in April, so the prime minister agreed to a coalition. Felipe swore in the new coalition cabinet on 13 January 2020.
COVID-19 pandemic On 18 March 2020, a widespread
cacerolada from the balconies of some cities across Spain took place, in an attempt to counter-program the TV discourse of Felipe VI on the
COVID-19 pandemic in that country. The intent was to force Juan Carlos I to donate to public healthcare the €100M he had allegedly obtained through kickbacks from Saudi Arabia, which was ultimately dismissed. Despite the attempt to boycott the speech, it was seen by more than 15 million citizens, making it the most watched speech by a monarch in the history of Spain. In July, he led a memorial paying tribute to victims of the pandemic at the
Royal Palace. In December 2021, Felipe VI warned against virus complacency during the pandemic, stating that "the risk has not disappeared." In the context of the
COVID-19 pandemic, King Felipe had to isolate himself in quarantine for testing positive for coronavirus on several occasions between 2020 and 2022. While he was isolated,
Queen Letizia replaced him in those events for which she was constitutionally authorized (awards delivery, lunches, event openings, etc.) but not in those activities tightly related to constitutional responsibilities (such as the working meeting with the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Željko Komšić, in 2022, which had to be postponed).
Duke of Franco The daughter of
Francisco Franco,
Carmen Franco was created
Duchess of Franco. After the death of the 1st Duchess of Franco, succession of the ducal title with accompanying Grandeeship had been requested by her eldest daughter
María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco. Under Spanish nobiliary law, her eldest daughter Maria is first in line, but does not succeed automatically; with the application to the Crown and the issue of the Royal Letter of Succession, and after an announcement period of thirty days, succession only legally enters into force after a tax is paid. In 2018, the
Izquierda Unida party sent a letter to Felipe VI asking that title be repressed as a violation of Spain's Historical Memory Law but the power to make or unmake nobility resides solely in the Spanish monarch and is not covered by that law. The Dukedom was granted to the heir apparent, María del Carmen Martínez-Bordíu y Franco, the eldest daughter of the late Duchess, on the same year, as published in the
Official State Gazette on 4 July 2018. However, the title was abolished on 21 October 2022, under the purview of the
Law of Democratic Memory.
2023 Spanish general election and third Sánchez government The
coalition government formed in 2020 led to almost a complete
legislature of stability, however, in May 2023,
local and
regional elections were held. The result of these elections could not have been worse for the government; although the
Socialist Party held up well, losing just 400,000 votes compared to the 2019 regional and local elections, the parties to its left collapsed and, in many regions and cities, disappeared, causing the Socialists to lose most of their regional and local power. of the
15th Cortes Generales in November 2023 , during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the
extermination camp After this disastrous result, the Socialist prime minister,
Pedro Sánchez, requested the king to dissolve Parliament and call early elections with the aim of "clarifying the [will of the] Spanish people about the political forces that should lead this new phase and the policies to be applied". As happened in the regional and local elections, the People's Party led by
Alberto Núñez Feijóo won the
election, but he fell short of a majority to form a new conservative government. In general, this was considered a victory for Sánchez, who still had a chance to renew its coalition government. and after verifying that neither Sánchez nor Núñez Feijóo had a sufficient majority to form a government, on 22 August 2023 the king asked the winner of the elections, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, to form a government. As expected, Núñez Feijóo failed to gather enough support to govern and the Congress of Deputies rejected his candidacy. Following new meetings with political parties on early October, the king nominated acting prime minister Pedro Sánchez. After obtaining the support of
Sumar and the pro-independence and regionalist political parties, the Congress of Deputies re-elected Sánchez on 16 November 2023 and the king swore in the new cabinet on 21 November 2023. On 3 November 2024, King Felipe, Queen Letizia, Prime Minister Sánchez and Valencian president
Carlos Mazón were violently confronted during a meeting with victims of the
October 2024 Spain floods in
Paiporta in the
Valencian Community, who threw mud and objects at them and injured two bodyguards. Although the Prime Minister had to be evacuated, the monarchs remained there listening to the complaints and requests of the residents. After the incident, the visit to neighboring towns was postponed, but the Royal Household confirmed that they would return "in the next few days". The king returned to the region on 12 November to check the efforts of the Armed Forces in the disaster and, in 19 November, the monarchs resumed the visit canceled two weeks earlier.
Accession anniversary In 2024 Felipe marked his 10th anniversary of his accession and, for this occasion, the king renewed his motto: "
Servicio, compromiso y deber" (English: "Service, commitment and duty"). As was customary during his reign, it was announced that the events to celebrate this anniversary would be discreet. The celebrations began in the
Royal Palace, when the royal family presided, from the interior balcony of the palace, over the
Royal Guard changing. Subsequently, and after greeting the citizens who approached the palace, the king presented the
Order of Civil Merit to 19 anonymous citizens, each from a
Spanish region, as well as from the autonomous cities of
Ceuta and
Melilla. This event ended with a lunch for the invited authorities and the recipients. Before the start of lunch, the
Princess of Asturias and
Infanta Sofía surprised the king with an improvised speech to congratulate him on the anniversary. In the afternoon, the monarch's daughters visited the
Royal Collections Gallery with 40 young people who, at some point, won the contest "What is a King to you?", organized annually by the
Royal Household and two private foundations that promotes the monarchy. On this occasion, the monarchs surprised the attendees by attending the event when it was not planned. To conclude the celebrations, public concerts were held in the Royal Palace, including one of the violinist
Ara Malikian, as well as a projection of images on the façade of the palace attended by the royal family. After a year of celebrations across the country, the anniversary concluded on 18 June 2025 with another concert in Madrid's
Plaza Mayor, performed by the Royal Guard. On 19 June 2025, on the 11th anniversary of the proclamation of the sovereign, the Royal Household announced the creation by King Felipe of his first nobility titles.
Jaime Alfonsín, former secretary of the king was created
Marquess of Alfonsín and
Grandee of Spain, while former tennis player
Rafael Nadal was created
Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca, swimmer
Teresa Perales was created Marchioness of Perales, singer
Luz Casal was created Marchioness of Luz y Paz, biochemist Carlos López Otín was created Marquess of Castillo de Leres and photographer
Cristina García Rodero was created Marchioness of Valle de Alcudia.
Sports Felipe is a huge fan of sports and has attended hundreds of sports events since 1976, when he accompanied his father to a match between
Real Madrid and
Atlético de Madrid at the
1976 Copa del Generalísimo final. At the end of the event, when asked by journalist about his favourite team, he said
Atlético de Madrid. Besides football, he loves
skiing,
squash and
sailing. As King of Spain, most of the sports have a tournament in his honor,
Copa del Rey (), which he normally attends and delivers the trophy to the winner. Also, since the reign of
Alfonso XIII (1886–1931), the King exercises high patronage over the
sports federations. Most of them hold the title of "royal" granted by the ruling monarch; the latest federation to receive this honor was the
Rugby Federation in 2023. It is also common for him to attend international sporting events in which Spanish clubs or Spanish national teams participate. If he cannot attend, it is common for him to be replaced by a member of the
royal family, such as
Leonor, Princess of Asturias and
Infanta Sofía in the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or
Queen Letizia in the
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup final.
2017 terrorist attacks ,
Carles Puigdemont,
Mariano Rajoy, and
Ana Pastor, during the anti-terrorist demonstration that followed the
August 2017 Barcelona attacks International agenda Since his proclamation as king on 19 June 2014, Felipe VI has visited, , 61 sovereign countries on four continents, in 157 official visits abroad (The number of countries includes Puerto Rico, which has the status of "
Commonwealth of the United States"). The first international trip was to the
Vatican City on 30 June 2014, to meet with the Pope. Most of his visits have been to European countries (24 countries in 91 visits), followed by American countries (19 countries in 42 visits), Asian (13 countries in 17 visits) and African (5 countries in 7 visits). He has never visited an Oceanian country as a king; as prince of Asturias, he visited Australia and New Zealand in 1990.
Ibero-America greeting during Da Silva's 2023 inauguration Like his father did, Felipe VI has maintained an important presence and influence in the countries of Latin America, Portugal and Brazil. As King of Spain, he represents Spain in all the
Ibero-American Summits, normally calling for the "unity" of the region and the strengthening of relations with Spain and the
European Union. In this sense, Spain is also the main contributor to the
Ibero-American General Secretariat, headquartered in Madrid. This organization is mainly financed by Spain, with more than 60 per cent of the budget as of 2016. Felipe VI has attended all the summits since he ascended the throne. For the 2021 Ibero-American summit in
Andorra la Vella, Felipe became the first Spanish monarch to visit neighbouring
Andorra, a principality whose co-prince is the Spanish Bishop of Urgell. Also, as he did as prince of Asturias, Felipe has kept the tradition of attending the inauguration of Latin American leaders. As of January 2024, he has attended more than 80 presidential inaugurations.
Portugal During the reign of Felipe VI, good relations between Spain and Portugal have continued. After his visit to the Vatican, Felipe dedicated his second foreign visit to Portugal, in July 2015. There, he met with President
Aníbal Cavaco Silva and Prime Minister
Pedro Passos Coelho, and stated that the relationship between the two countries was "not only the relationship of good neighbors, but of brother countries" and remembered that his grandfather,
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, chose Portugal to live while in exile. The king, who had attended the inauguration of Rebelo de Sousa early that month, and the Portuguese leader had established a very good relationship, being described as a true friendship. In addition to courtesy and institutional visits, it was very common to see both leaders in each other's countries as well as attending various events led by the other. Examples of this relationship are the support that the Portuguese president gave to the king when the monarch was awarded with the
World Peace & Liberty Award from the
World Association of Jurists in 2018, the private visit that Rebelo de Sousa made to Spain in 2020 to visit the
Prado Museum, and having a private lunch with the monarch at
Zarzuela Palace, and when they were seen eating on a public terrace near the Royal Palace of Madrid in 2021. Also, Rebelo de Sousa welcomed
Leonor, Princess of Asturias in Lisbon during her first international trip and also to
Infanta Sofía when she moved to the Portuguese capital to study. Rebelo de Sousa made his last international trip as president to Spain on 20 February 2026.
Cuba From 11 to 14 November 2019, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the founding of the city of
Havana by the Spanish, Felipe and Letizia made a state visit to Cuba. This was the fifth royal visit to the island after
Infanta Eulalia, Duchess of Galliera in 1893,
Infante Alfonso, Count of Covadonga in 1937,
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona in 1948 and
King Juan Carlos in 1999. However, King Felipe's visit was the first state visit in history. The visit was harshly criticized by the conservative opposition, as well as by the Cuban opposition and human rights associations which considered the visit a legitimization of the regime. The Spanish monarchs, who were greeted with cheers by the Cubans, were also welcomed by Cuban president
Miguel Díaz-Canel and his wife,
Lis Cuesta Peraza. After signing some cooperation agreements and receiving the
baton of the city, the royal couple walked through the streets of the Cuban capital and visited monuments and buildings. The next day, King Felipe awarded
Eusebio Leal with the
Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, a renowned Cuban historian who already held the grand crosses of the orders of
Alfonso X, the Wise and
Isabella the Catholic. To conclude the trip, the monarchs traveled to
Santiago de Cuba and visited the
Castillo de San Pedro de la Roca, where they paid homage to the fallen in the
Cuban War of Independence (1895–1898) and
Spanish–American War of 1898.
Mexico , and his wife Felipe has had a good relationship with Mexico, coinciding in his first years of reign with president
Enrique Peña Nieto, who favored this relationship. Felipe made a state visit to the North American country in 2015. However, things worsened with the rise to power of
Andrés Manuel López Obrador. López Obrador was inaugurated as Mexican president in December 2018, an inauguration attended by the King, and from the beginning, the Mexican president expressed disapproval for what Spain and its companies represented. At the beginning of 2019, the Mexican president asked Felipe VI for an apology on behalf of the Crown and Spain for the events that occurred during the
Spanish conquest of the Americas. The
Royal Household did not respond to this request, forwarding the letter from the Mexican president to the Government. In a release, the Spanish government "firmly rejected" López Obrador's arguments and encouraged both governments to "work together" to "intensify the already existing relations of friendship and cooperation". This request for an apology and the criticism for not answering has been reiterated by the Mexican president on various occasions between 2020 and 2022. After this incident, neither the Royal Family nor the King's Household have spoken about the issue or intervened in any way in the relations between Spain and Mexico, leaving it in the hands of the Government. In 2024, incoming Mexican president
Claudia Sheinbaum officially banned Felipe VI from attending her inauguration on 1 October, citing his failure to respond to López Obrador's letter. In response, the Spanish government said that it would boycott the event altogether. In March 2026, Felipe issued an acknowledgement of "abuses" made by Spanish conquistadors during the colonization of the Americas in remarks made at the
National Archaeological Museum in
Madrid. He also praised the role of the Crown in trying to prevent them, such as the promulgation of the
Laws of the Indies.
Gibraltar As King of Spain, Felipe has defended the historic claim of Spain over Gibraltar. In September 2014, he addressed the
United Nations General Assembly for the first time and, although he made some reference to the territorial integrity of the states, he did not directly mention Gibraltar. Two years later, in another speech at the UN General Assembly podium, the king referred to Gibraltar as the "only existing colony in European territory" and he invited the UK to "put an end to this anachronism with a agreed solution between our two countries that restores the territorial integrity of Spain and is beneficial for the population of the colony and Campo de Gibraltar". The last time the King mentioned the Gibraltar dispute was on his state visit to the United Kingdom.
State trip to the UK From 12 to 14 July 2017, the King and Queen of Spain made a state visit to the United Kingdom, which had been postponed twice: the first in March 2016, due to the political crisis in Spain and the second in May 2017, due to the
snap general election in Britain. On Wednesday morning the 12th,
Charles, Prince of Wales, and
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, came to receive the King and Queen. From there, they proceeded to
Horse Guards Parade, where they were officially received by Queen
Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with military honours and ordnance salutes. The hymns of the two countries were played and the King reviewed the Guard formed there. Next, they moved to Buckingham Palace where they visited the Picture Gallery. In the afternoon Felipe went to the Parliament of the United Kingdom where he addressed a few words at the joint session and held an informal meeting with the leader of the Labour opposition,
Jeremy Corbyn. During his speech before parliament, he mentioned the status of Gibraltar, saying that "I am certain that this resolve to overcome our differences will be even greater in the case of Gibraltar, and I am confident that through the necessary dialogue and effort our two governments will be able to work towards arrangements that are acceptable to all involved". In the evening, the State Dinner, hosted by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in honor of the King and Queen of Spain, took place in the Gala Hall of
Buckingham Palace. On Thursday the 13th, there was a Spanish-British business meeting (UK-SPAIN Business Forum) at
Mansion House, with the presence of the Mayor of the
City of London,
Andrew Parmley, and an important business delegation from both countries. Later, the party visited
Westminster Abbey accompanied by
Prince Harry. There, the King made an offering at the
Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. At mid-morning, they went to the
Spanish Embassy in London, where they received representatives of the Spanish community in the capital and where, previously, they had held a brief meeting with the families of Ignacio Echeverría and Aysha Frade, murdered in the terrorist attacks in London. Later, the King visited
10 Downing Street, where he had a working lunch with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
Theresa May, in which they discussed matters of bilateral interest. Thursday's day was completed with a gala dinner offered by the Mayor of London in honor of the King and Queen, at
Guildhall. On Friday the 14th, Felipe and Letizia were officially bid farewell by Elizabeth and Philip, at the gates of Buckingham Palace. Subsequently, Felipe and Letizia moved to the
Francis Crick Institute, a biomedical research center that houses the largest individual biomedical laboratory in Europe. Later they went to Oxford to visit the Weston Library, where they were shown a manuscript of the Codex Mendoza, they saw a copy of a Ptolemy, with the coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs and an original copy of a first edition of
Don Quixote. At noon, Oxford University hosted a luncheon in his honour. To conclude, they held a meeting at Exeter College with representatives of the university's academic community, including professors, postgraduate students and doctoral students linked to Spain.
Jews Felipe, like his father before him, has supported the initiatives of Spanish institutions to normalize relations with the Jewish people and religion. In 1990, he awarded the
Sephardic Jewish communities with the
Prince of Asturias Award. In December 2015, the King hosted a solemn ceremony in the
Royal Palace to celebrate the approval by the
Cortes Generales and the subsequent sanction by the Sovereign of the law that granted
Spanish nationality to the
Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 due to the
Alhambra Decree. At his speech, Felipe thanked the Sephardic Jews for preserving their language,
Ladino, and for teaching their own children "to love this Spanish homeland". He also welcomed them "back home", adding that they had "returned home forever." The Jewish associations thanked the gesture, declaring that they were no longer "Spaniards without a homeland." In January 2020, the King attended the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at
Jerusalem. Felipe, who claims the title of
King of Jerusalem as one of the historic
titles of the Spanish crown, was the only international leader to speak at the opening dinner. In his speech, he stated that "there is no room for indifference in the face of racism, xenophobia, hatred and antisemitism" and that "forgetting the Holocaust would be extremely dangerous and an utter disrespect to the memory of the victims." Later that month, during the 2023
Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony, Felipe referred to
the ongoing conflict asking for unity to resolve it and recalled that in 1994, Israeli prime minister
Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat received the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation for their "effort to create conditions of peace in the region" after the
Madrid Conference of 1991 and the 1994
Oslo I Accord. On 11 January 2024, the King, in a meeting with the
diplomatic corps in Spain, called for the release of
war hostages and defended the "establishment of the
Palestinian State next to Israel" to stop the "cycle of violence". During his State Visit to Egypt, King Felipe criticized the "unbearable" humanitarian crisis in the
Gaza Strip, which "has caused unspeakable suffering of hundreds of thousands of innocent people" and supported a "viable Palestinian state that coexists in peace and security with Israel". The Palestinian state would be formed by "Gaza, the
West Bank and
East Jerusalem". He defended a similar position during his speech at the
general debate of the eightieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, asking for the "massacre" to be stopped and pushed for the
two-state solution. == Honours and awards ==