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PRINCE FELIPE

Spanish royals set sail for Dutch ‘coronation’

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia, Princess of Asturias, will travel to Amsterdam on Monday to attend the investiture of the Netherlands' Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange.

Published: 29 April 2013 11:37 CEST
Spanish royals set sail for Dutch 'coronation'
Spain's Crown Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia, Princess of Asturias, with their two children, Leonor (R) and Sofía in Mallorca in 2012. Photo: Jaime Reina/AFP

The prince and princess will attend the investiture of the Prince of Orange which is to take place at Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk, or New Church, on Tuesday afternoon.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia are also expected to attend a gala dinner on Monday night at the recently restored Rijksmuseum, reported Spanish news agency EFE on Sunday.

The restoration of the famous art institution was carried out by Spanish architects Antonio Cruz and Antonio Ortiz. The works took over a decade.

The dinner at the museum is the first act of the investiture of the new monarch of the Netherlands after Queen Beatrix announced in January that she would abdicate.

The Dutch Queen will formally address the nation for the last time on Monday evening reported the Dutch news site dutchnews on Monday.

Queen Beatrix will formally abdicate at 10am on Tuesday at Amsterdam's Royal Palace.

Prince Felipe and his wife will not attend this ceremony but will be present at the investiture which is to take place at 1.30pm.

The "solemn event" is expected to last two hours, reported EFE.

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M

Prince Felipe in Caracas for Chavez funeral

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe has arrived in Caracas where he is attending the funeral of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

Published: 8 March 2013 13:10 CET
Prince Felipe in Caracas for Chavez funeral
Spain's Prince Felipe prior to a lunch with Guatemala's President Otto Perez Molina at the Royal Palace in Madrid on February 13th 2013. Photo: Dani Pozo/AFP

The prince arrived at Caracas' Maiquetía airport at 5am local time, or 10.30am Spanish time, reported El Mundo. 

He was greeted by Venezuela's deputy foreign affairs minister Temir Porras and by the Spanish embassador in Venezuela Antonio Pérez-Hernández.

The welcoming party for the popular prince was rounded out by the Spanish Venezuela's tourism minister Alejandro Fleming.

The charismatic Hugo Chavez died on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. 

His funeral includes representatives from over 50 countries, El Mundo said.

As King Juan Carlos is on sick leave after his recent back operation, Crown Prince Felipe is Spain's acting head of state.

The Spanish government won't be represented at the highest level at Chavez' funeral, as neither prime minister Mariano Rajoy nor foreign minister José Manuel García-Margallo have made the journey.

The foreign minister did not travel because of slight perforation of the eardrum, reported La Vanguardia.

The paper said García-Margallo's doctors had advised the minister not to travel to Venezuela especially given that he had to travel to Brussels on Monday for a meeting with Europe's foreign ministers.

Spain's left-wing groups have, however, criticized the fact that the top tier of Spanish government won't be represented at Chavez' funeral.

Willy Meyer, eurodeputy for the Izquierda Unida (IU) said the decision was "yet another error on the South American front".

Meyer will be attending Chavez' funeral with Spain's federal coordinator for the IU Cayo Lara, reported La Vanguardia.

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