British State Banquet at the Royal Palace of Madrid, 1988

King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain hosted the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on their State Visit to Spain on this day in 1988, which was the first (and so far only) British State Visit to Spain, while they Queen had hosted the Spanish State Visit to Britain in 1986 as well as a State Visit to Britain in 2017, though the Spanish Royal Family hosted the Prince and Princess of Wales on Holiday through the 1980s.

The Spanish Royal Family greeted the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh in an official ceremony at the Palacio Real de Madrid, followed by a luncheon at the Palacio de Zarzuela. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain were all descendants of Queen Victoria, while three, with the exception of King Juan Carlos, were descendants of King Christian IX of Denmark.

In the evening, King Juan Carlos (in the Order of the Garter) and Queen Sofia (wearing the Spanish Fleur-de-Lys Tiara and the Order of Charles III) hosted s spectacular State Banquet in honour of the Queen (wearing the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, Cambridge Emerald Parure and the Order of the Golden Fleece) and Duke of Edinburgh (in the Order of Charles III) at the Palacio Real de Madrid, where they were joined by the Prince of Asturias (in the Royal Victorian Order), Infanta Elena (wearing the Floral Tiara) and Infanta Cristina (in the Prussian Diamond Tiara).

Also present at the State Banquet were the Count of Barcelona, Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz  (wearing Queen Maria Christina’s Loop Tiara) and Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria and Hernani (in Infanta Pilar’s Sapphire Tiara).

Following visits to Seville and Barcelona, the Queen (wearing Queen Victoria’s Wheat Ear Brooch) and Duke of Edinburgh hosted a Return Dinner for King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia (in Queen Victoria Eugenie’s Diamond Earrings), and the Spanish Royal Family at the El Pardo Palace in Madrid.

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