The visit to our country took place in October 1988 when she was 62 years old. Queen Elizabeth II visited Spain accompanied by her husband, Philip of Edinburgh.
They stayed in Spain for seven days and traveled to Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca.
At that time the monarch was known as the “traveling queen”. In fact, he always was, for during his 70-year reign he made about 250 official visits abroad.
The last trip was to the island of Malta in 2015.
Upon his arrival in the country, he was received by King Juan Carlos I, Queen Sofia and at that time the Prince of Asturias, now King Felipe VI, along with the Infanta Elena.
Specifically, the visit to Spain for diplomatic reasons, in order to meet with the King of Spain and, incidentally, with Felipe Gonzalez, the then President of the Spanish Government.
She arrived on October 17, 1988 with her husband. They arrived at Madrid’s Barajas airport and during the three days they stayed in Madrid at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.
The State Dinner when Queen Elizabeth II visited Spain
During her speech at the state dinner, the British monarch made the comment about Gibraltar saying it was “the only problem left between us”.
Building on our shared experiences and addressing areas of historical misunderstanding will enable our two nations to play a leading role in the future development of Europe,” he said.
It was a gala dinner attended by some 150 personalities in the midst of official protocol.
The two queens at the time wore their best dresses and admirable historical jewelry for the occasion.
Queen Sofia wore black and Elizabeth II wore white.
The menu was tomato vishyssoise, sole, partridge and crepes with almonds.
Places visited by the Queen in Spain
Journalists at the time described Queen Elizabeth II as a “somewhat cold” person. They attributed it to a flu he suffered in the middle of the trip.
While in the capital, he visited the Zarzuela, the Prado Museum, El Escorial, the Plaza de la Lealtad, the Madrid City Hall and the Municipal Museum of Madrid.
He also attended a formal lunch at the Moncloa and hosted a dinner at El Pardo for his Spanish counterparts. This dinner is remembered because the food is due to china brought from the UK specifically for the occasion.
In Barcelona, he was in the Plaza Sant Jaume, then in the Palau de la Generalitat and in the Barcelona City Hall. There was a monumental traffic jam that day in Barcelona.
