'Los Reyes', the King and Queen of Spain are expected shortly after noon at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague Wednesday for their courtesy visit to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. After the welcome ceremony in front of the Dutch King's 'office palace' the Spanish visitors will be offered lunch, albeit an early one by Spanish standards.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will stay for about two hours at the Palace before travelling the short distance to the Dutch Houses of Parliament, where they will meet with the presidents of the Senate and House of Representatives ('Tweede Kamer') at the Binnenhof, the inner court of the former court of the counts of Holland.
The royal couple will than proceed to the Office of the Prime Minister, a few metres down the inner court. They will be have an audience with Prime Minister Mark Rutte before wrapping up their visit and returning to Spain.
The visit to The Netherlands is the first in a series of courtesy calls the new royal couple will pay to their fellow monarchs across Europe, and to Germany and Italy, founding fathers of the European Union. The visits mirror the visits the new Dutch and Belgian kings paid after their inaugurations. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima visited Spain in September 2013.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia already visited the Vatican and Spain's neighbours Portugal, Morocco and France.
© RB; Photos: © Monarchy Press Europe, Patrick van Katijk (12 October 2014)
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