The Royal Correspondent

On December 21, 2011, Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain presided over a ceremony in which  political Conservative Mariano Rajoy was sworn in as Spain’s new prime minister.

Mr. Rajoy took the oath on the Bible before King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia in the Zarzuela Palace. He then went to the Moncloa palace government headquarters to complete the transfer of power to the new government. He replaces Socialist party leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who had been in office since 2004.

The new prime minister returned to Zarzuela Palace Wednesday evening to inform King Juan Carlos I of his choice of ministers before making them public.

Source: Associated Press

Photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

Here is the documentary, La Reina y Yo, regarding Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain.  Click the link below to watch… it’s in Spanish by the way.

• Part One 
• Part Two 
• Part Three 
• Part Four

Photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

On December 15, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain presided over the meeting of the Board of the Foundation for Help Against Drug Addiction (FAD) in Madrid, Spain.  The Queen was accompanied by the president and the director general of the SDF, Jose Angel Sanchez and Ignacio Asiaín Calderon.

 The Foundation for Help Against Drug Abuse is a private, nonprofit, non-denominational and independent of any political affiliation, a charitable-care, and equipped with Category II Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations . The fundamental mission of FAD is the prevention of drug consumption and its consequences.

Source and photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain presided over the 50th anniversary of the creation of the Special Operations Command, held at the cantonment “Alférez Rojas Navarrete” in Alicante on December 14, 2011.

The Queen was accompanied by the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, Alberto Fabra Part, the chief of Army Staff, Army General Fulgencio Coll Bucher, General Land Force chief, Jose Ignacio Cebrian Medina, the chief general Special Operations Command, Brigadier General Mir Francisco Arribas, the president of the Valencian Parliament, Juan Gabriel Ferrer Cotino, the government delegate in Valencia, Ana Botella Gomez, and Mayor of Alicante,  and Sonia Castedo Ramos.

During the ceremony, there was the delivery of “Machete Awards 2011″ were awarded to The Councillor for Environment and Social Welfare and 3rd Deputy Mayor of Alicante, Asuncion Sanchez Zaplana, and the City of Enguera, whose award was received by the Mayor, Santiago Arevalo Llacer.

The celebration also included a tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain, a military parade and an act of imposition of decorations.

 Source and photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

Their Majesties King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain attended the inauguration of the exhibition National Library of Spain: 300 years of Making History organized by the National Library of Spain and the Spanish Cultural Action on Tuesday December 13, 2011 in Madrid.

Upon their arrival to the National Library the reigning couple were received by Minister of Culture, Ángeles González-Sinde, president of the Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, president of the Royal Board of the National Library of Spain, Margarita Salas, the director of the National Library of Spain, Gloria Perez-Salmeron, and the president of Spanish Cultural Action, Rosario Otegui.

Later, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia entered the building and were greeted by members of the National Commission for the celebration of the National Library of Spain, the president of the Fundación Amigos de la Biblioteca Nacional of Spain, Pere Vicens , members of the Royal Board of the National Library of Spain, the curator of the exhibition and Professor of Romance Philology at the Complutense University of Madrid, José Manuel Lucia, and by Assistant Curator of the exhibition and professor of Hispanic Studies University of Alcalá, Aurelio Vargas.

Then, the royal couple toured the exhibition which includes the Foundation Fund of the Royal Public Library History of the Funds, the National Library of Spain and Technology, Works and Days, which shows the daily operations of the Library and “Timeline,” which highlights the milestones in the existence of the National Library of Spain.

To view photos please click here.

Source and photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

On December 5, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain attended the opening of the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Madrid.  Also, in attendance was First Lady of the Russian Federation, Her Excellency Svetlana Medvedeva, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Spain, Alexander Kuznetsov, Spain’s ambassador to the Russian Federation, Luis Felipe Fernández de la Peña, Ambassador on Special Mission of the Year Dual Spain-Russia, Mikhail Schvidkoy, and the coordinator of the Year Dual Spain-Russia, Juan Jose Herrera de la Muela.

 During the inauguration there were several performances of Spanish-Russian folk music.  Afterward, H.M. Queen Sofia and Mrs. Svetlana Medvedeva toured a photography exhibition by Andrey Terekhin and the Russian Center of Science and Culture’s library.

Today’s opening was the closing of the Year Dual Spain-Russia. The Year Dual Spain-Russia has given new impetus to bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian field, serves to develop relations in the field of science, culture and education between Spain and Russia.

 Photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

On November 29, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain was in New York City to attend the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute 2011 Gold Medal Gala where she presented Ferran Adria, Javier Bardem, Mario Testino, and Ken Chennault with, well, the Gold Medal.  Also, during the ceremony, Queen Sofia presented the Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit to the chairman of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, Mr. Oscar de la Renta.  Per the royal house of Spain:

Queen Sofia was accompanied to the gala by the U.S. ambassador to Spain, Jorge Dezcallar, and the president, the chairman and vice-chairman of the Institute, Inmaculada Habsburg, Oscar de la Renta, Valentin Fuster and former U.S. President Bill Clinton, among others.

 The ‘Queen Sofia Spanish Institute’ was created in 1954 to promote Spanish culture in the United States through conferences, exhibitions, symposiums, meetings and teaching Spanish.

 Prior to the gala event, Queen Sofia visited the headquarters of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute to view the exhibition ‘Joaquín Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress’ which aims to analyze the history of Spanish regional costumes through the works of Valencian, artist Joaquín Sorolla.

This exhibition was conceived and promoted by Oscar de la Renta, chairman of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute. The exhibition, in collaboration of the Spanish Ministry of Culture, includes dresses and pieces never exhibited in the United States, as prominent parts of the Museum of Costume, and works of Sorolla Museum in Madrid as well as a selection of Spanish designer clothes today. The coordinator of the exhibition is André Leon Talley, editor of the monthly column, ‘Life with André’ featured in Vogue magazine.

To view photos please click here.

Source and photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

On Sunday November 13, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain arrived in Valladolid to participate in the 2011 Global Microcredit Summit.

The 2011 Global Microcredit Summit is an important meeting held at a time of crisis with global implications. This year numerous heads of state and government, experts and representatives of national and international working in the fight against hunger and poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are in attendance.

On Monday 14, in the morning, Her Majesty Queen Sofia arrived at the Centro Cultural Miguel Delibes, where she was greeted by President of the Junta de Castilla y León, Juan Vicente Herrera, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Trinidad Jimenez, president of the Castile and Leon, Maria Josefa Garcia Cirac, the government delegate in the autonomous community of Castilla y León, Miguel Alejo, the mayor of Valladolid, Francisco Javier Leon de la Riva, the Secretary of State International Cooperation, Soraya Rodríguez, Muhammad Yunus and the director of the Campaign of the Microcredit Summit Campaign, Sam Daley-Harris. She then came into the building and was greeted by Secretary General for Social Policy and Consumer Affairs, Maria Isabel Martinez Lozano, president of the Provincial Council of Valladolid, Jesus Carnero, President of the Institute of Official Credit, José María Ayala and Citigroup Inc. vice president, Lewis B. Kaden.

During the event Queen Sofia gave a speech in which she noted that reliance on Spain for the organization of the Summit (rough translation):

…confirms the important place that our country has achieved worldwide in the role of microfinance, as this is not in vain the first global summit to be held on European soil… there is no doubt that microfinance is absolutely essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals set by United Nations and especially the number one goal, which aims to have the proportion of people with incomes below a dollar a day in 2015, and as a sign of confidence from Spain in the role of microfinance is that in just ten years, our country has become the second largest donor worldwide, with 713 contributions million Euros.

The queen ended her speech noting that the Global Microcredit Summit does not arise only as a forum for discussion and exchange of experiences, but aims to promote two basic goals:

1. To achieve that 175 million families access to basic financial services by the end of 2015.
2. To have 100 million of the world’s poorest families improve their income above the threshold of one dollar a day.

To watch a video as well as to view photos please click the links below:

• VIDEO 
• Gallery One

Source and photo courtesy of Casa de Su Majestad el Rey

This evening at the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, Spain, Their Royal Highnesses Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia of Asturias along with Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain attended the 2011 Prince of Asturias Awards ceremony.

The purpose of this important event is to honor and award those who have contributed as well as made a difference in the fields of scientific research, cultural, social and humanitarian work performed by individuals, groups or institutions on an international level.   This year’s recipients include Riccardo Muti in the field of the Arts, Howard Gardner in the field of Social Sciences, Arturo Alvarez Buylla, Joseph Altman and Giacomo Rizzolatti for Technical and Scientific Research, Leonard Cohen for Music and Lyrics, Haile Gerbselassie for Sports.

To watch a video clip as well as to view photos please click the links below:

• VIDEO 
• VIDEO 
• Gallery One

Source: Fundacion Principe de Asturias  

Photo courtesy of: Daylife/C.Alvarez

Their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain attended the opening of the Royal Academy Course at the Real Academia Espanola in Madrid on October 18, 2011.  The event was also attended by the President of the Constitutional Court, Pascual Sala, the Minister of Education, Ángel Gabilondo, the director of the Royal Spanish Academy, Jose Manuel Blecua, Under Secretary of Education, Mercedes Lopez Revilla, different directors and presidents of the other Royal Academies, as are the director of the Royal Academy of History, Gonzalo Anes, the director of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Antonio Bonet, president of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences, Miguel Angel Alario, President of the Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Marcelino Oreja, Marquis de Oreja, President of the Royal Academy of Medicine, Manuel Diaz-Rubio, the President of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation, Landelino Lavilla and the president of the Royal Academy of Pharmacy, Maria Teresa Miras-Portugal, as well as members of the Governing Board of the Royal Spanish Academy.  

During the event His Majesty King Juan Carlos delivered a speech in which he emphasized that the new lecture/course, “Invitation to the Noble studies, Language use, and Language of Art”, would provide “…a new opportunity to reaffirm the continued commitment of the Crown with our Royal Academy, so necessary to continue promoting excellence in the Sciences, Humanities and Arts in our country… ”   Click here to view photos.

On October 19, 2011, Her Majesty Queen Sofia participated in the opening of several new hospital facilities at the Politècnic i Universitari La Fe in Valencia.  During the ceremony, Her Majesty the Queen unveiled a commemorative plaque then toured the facility which aims to become one of the best hospitals in Europe.   

Source and photos courtesy of: Casa de Su Majestad el Rey