The Kings will star this Wednesday in their first official visit to Melilla, where a reception as massive as that recorded in Ceuta is expected. In the sister city, in addition to showing their support after the massive entry of migrants last July, the monarch has emphasized the Spanish identity of the two autonomous cities.
Felipe VI and Letizia will land in Melilla shortly before noon coming from Ceuta, where they have chosen to spend the night as an additional gesture of support to the Ceutans. This is the first visit of the current Kings to both cities since the trip made by Juan Carlos I and Sofía in 2007.
The day in Melilla will begin at the Assembly, where they will hold an institutional meeting with the authorities of the autonomous city, presided over by Juan José Imbroda. Before that, and as in Ceuta, it is expected that they will approach the streets to greet the numerous Melillans who will come to receive them.
Imbroda has encouraged citizens to go out to the streets to welcome the monarchs, also requesting the General Administration of the State and the business community to facilitate attendance, and has insisted that the visit "will mark a before and after" for Melilla.
In the afternoon, the Kings will move to the Pintor Eduardo Morillas early childhood and primary education school, in a very similar agenda to that followed in Ceuta, where they also visited a school to learn firsthand about the coexistence between different religious confessions in both autonomous cities.
The agenda will conclude with a meeting with representatives of Melilla society, replicating the scheme followed in Ceuta. In this forum, the King will deliver some words in which he will presumably reiterate his solidarity and that of all Spaniards with the autonomous city, which, although it did not suffer an avalanche like Ceuta, has experienced other dramatic episodes related to immigration in the past, in addition to reaffirming its Spanish identity.
"Ceuta and Melilla are an inalienable part of the political and social reality that is Spain," the monarch has claimed during his meeting with Ceuta society, emphasizing that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Spain "are non-negotiable" and that, as European borders, any threat they suffer will be "to the whole of the EU."
Ceuta has given a warm welcome to Their Majesties, with thousands of people filling squares and streets through which they have conveyed their affection to the people of Ceuta on behalf of the rest of Spain. The neighbors received them with applause, cheers, and 'long live', also taking the opportunity to launch proclamations such as "A caballa never surrenders" or "Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta defends itself".
The official visit in Ceuta began at the Assembly Palace, where they met with the Ceuta president, Juan Jesús Vivas, and with representatives of civil society. Felipe VI received the golden key of the city and a gift: a work by the Ceuta artist Belén Abad De los Santos that represents the building of the Ceuta Executive.
After a private lunch at the Parador of Ceuta, where they have also decided to spend the night, Felipe VI and Letizia moved to the public school Vicente Aleixandre to learn about the educational reality and the conditions of a student body of various religious confessions, educated in coexistence.
Subsequently, the Kings presided over an ecumenical event at the Sidi Embarek cemetery, accompanied by Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and Hindu representatives, the four confessions present in the autonomous city, in memory of at least 140 deceased in the mass entry on July 30 and 31. The day concluded with the King's words at the Parador.
Later, the monarch went out again to greet the hundreds of Ceutíes who were still at the doors of the hotel. Felipe VI paid special attention to the State Security Forces and requested to speak separately with about thirty agents present at a cocktail with the authorities to inquire about their situation.