King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain were joined by the Princess of Asturias as they presided over the Solemn Opening Ceremony of the XV Legislature, a joint session of Parliament, Congress of Deputies and Senate, at the Palacio de las Cortes in Madrid on November 29th, a month after the Princess’ 18th Birthday Celebrations.
The King, Queen and the Princess of Asturias were received upon their arrival at the Congress of Deputies by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and by the Chief of the Defense Staff, Teodoro Esteban López Calderón. At the Carrera de San Jerónimo, military honors were rendered and the King reviewed the troops. Subsequently, on the steps of the Palacio de la Carrera de San Jerónimo they received greetings from the president of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, from the president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, and from the members of the Tables of the Lower House and the Cortes. The Honors Battalion, made up of a squad of spenders, a Music Unit, and four Companies from the Army, Air Force, Navy and Civil Guard, was in charge of rendering honours to the King.
King Felipe, Queen Letizia and the Princess of Asturias accompanied by the President of the Congress and the President of the Senate, entered the Congress of Deputies through the Puerta de los Leones, which is only opened on the occasion of the celebration of solemn sessions like this and entered the chamber through the staircase of the Agenda Gallery, which gives access to the presidential gallery. The XV Legislature began with the celebration of the constitutive session on August 17, 2023. The Solemn Opening of the Legislature takes place once the Congress of Deputies has approved the investiture of the President of the Government that took place last August 16.
The King gave his speech in which he said:
The Spanish people have placed in their honors the most precious political asset: trust. They have entrusted them with the task of ensuring that the political pluralism represented here promotes the improvement of the living conditions of the people and groups in which it is integrated.
The performance of the powers attributed to the Chambers constitutes a high honor for all your honors. An honor that also entails the obligation to perform the entrusted constitutional functions, always seeking the common good of all Spaniards.
This is, unequivocally, the return due to the trust granted by the citizens
After the opening session, King, Queen and the Princess of Asturias moved to the Conference Hall where they greeted the authorities and those attending the event. After the greetings, they witnessed, accompanied by the authorities, a military parade of the Group of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard.
