The UK government has protested the visit of the Earl of Wessex to Gibraltar

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Transferred to the British authorities Discomfort from government Pedro Sanchez Due to the scheduled visit of the Earl of Wessex to Gibraltar between June 7 and 9, it was announced. specialized site The diplomat in Spain Department spokesman Jose Manuel Alparis confirmed that the target.

Edward England He and his wife will travel to the Rock to participate in commemorative events to mark the 70th anniversary of Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne. Spain considers this visit Not appropriatewithin the process of negotiating a future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar and the bilateral agreements between Spain and the United Kingdom necessary for the implementation of this Agreement, which will define new relations between Gibraltar and the European Union,” in the words of the aforementioned speaker.

Foreigner Don’t want to specify If invocation is made by Note Verbal or if the Ambassador of the United Kingdom has been summoned, Hugh Elliotto the headquarters of the Paris department. The announcement of the Counts of Wessex trip was announced on March 31, but the Spanish government has not commented on the visit so far.

who – which delay It has been interpreted in some media as A change in Spain’s diplomatic position, who has always protested against this kind of visitation by members of the royal family of the British colony. Specifically, the future of the relationship with Gibraltar awaits negotiations between the European Commission and the United Kingdom after Brexit.

Lack of progress in negotiations on Gibraltar

This idea also contributed to the fact that days after visiting the Earls of Wessex, Queen Letizia travels to the UK to attend the Prince of Wales To the opening in County Durham in Spanish exhibitionthe first museum on British soil dedicated to the art, history and culture of Spain with works ZurbaranAnd El GrecoAnd Murillo s Velazquez.

Spain and the United Kingdom agreed Christmas Eve 2020 The inclusion of the rock in the European Schengen area in exchange for the abolition of the gate and that border controls at the colony’s port and airport were under the supervision of the European Frontex Agency. However, the deadlines for Close Technical details The agreement between Brussels and London takes a long time, a fact that worries the Paris team In the absence of progress.

Exactly ten years ago, the government Headed by Mariano Rajoy (PP) at the time, his transfer Protest against the UK to visit Gibraltar from the same Earls of WessexThen to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond JubileeOn the sixtieth anniversary of his accession to the throne. In addition, shortly after the visit that Queen Sophia had intended to make to London for this jubilee festivities, it was cancelled.

However, the executive branch finally made the decision To make a formal protest in Londonwhile maintaining the line which all Spanish governments noted when there were visits by members of the British Royal House to the colony, including the establishment of Prince Charles and Mrs. Di On their 1981 wedding trip, which caused the King and Queen of Spain to not attend the wedding.

Then there were other trips by members of the British Royal House and subsequent protests, such as, in October 1993 and July 1995, for individual stays at the Duke of York, Prince AndrewThe third son of Elizabeth II. In May 1996 he was the Queen’s husband, Duke of Edinburghwho made a working visit on the occasion of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and in 1998 they visited the rock Duke Kentthe Queen’s cousin, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra.

In 2001, the government Jose Maria Aznar He also protested against another visit by Prince Edward of England to the colony; and one of Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero She did the same when Princess Anne of England appeared in June 2004 on The Rock to commemorate 300th Anniversary of the British Invasion of Gibraltar. Isabel’s second sister returned to the colony in February 2009 to open a medical center bearing her name on the rock, with the ensuing Spanish protest.

Anyway, the diplomatic protests by Spain Does not produce the slightest effect Neither in the Crown nor in the British Governments, which continue to arrange such visits when they see fit. A position praised by the authorities of Gibraltar. On March 31, after announcing the new visit of the Earl of Wessex, the Prime Minister of the colony, Fabian Picardo, stated that this would be «Clarification“To the inhabitants of the rock in the year of the platinum jubilee of Elizabeth II. An opportunity for the people of Gibraltar to demonstrate Once again his deep and unwavering affection by our King and the Royal Family as the embodiment of British sovereignty over Gibraltar.”