King Felipe and Queen Letizia ’s state visit to Sweden officially kicked off on Wednesday with a traditional procession from the Royal Stables to the Royal Palace in Stockholm with Queen Silvia and King Carl XVI Gustaf. Letizia looked characteristically chic wearing a Carolina Herrera camel cape and a red-orange dress by the same designer, paired with a matching headband, for the welcome ceremony at the palace.
© DUYGU GETRIEN/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty ImagesCrown Princess Victoria, Prince Daniel, Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia were also on hand to welcome the Spanish monarchs to Sweden. The four royal couples posed for a photo together in the Bernadotte Gallery at the Royal Palace. Inside of Lovisa Ulrika’s dining room, the Swedish King said, “The Queen and I are honored to welcome the King and Queen of Spain to Sweden.”
The Swedish royal admitted that they had been looking forward to the visit, “which will confirm and promote the longstanding and good relations between our two countries.” He also noted that the “state visit is a valuable opportunity to further strengthen the friendship and cooperation between Spain and Sweden.”
© CLAUDIO BRESCIANI/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty ImagesIn the afternoon, the Spanish and Swedish monarchs visited the Nobel Museum. After, Letizia and Silvia paid a visit to the Karolinska Institutet in Solna with Crown Princess Victoria. The first day of the state visit will conclude with a gala dinner at the Royal Palace for the Spanish King and Queen. The Crown Princess Couple and Prince Couple are set to attend the dinner in the evening.
Letizia and Felipe’s two-day state visit marks the first Spanish state visit to Sweden since 1979, per the Swedish Royal Court. The purpose of the couple’s visit is to “further strengthen and promote the long-standing and very good relations between Sweden and Spain.”
