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It has been quite a week for British-Spanish relations. Spain lifted the World Cup on Sunday, with more than a few English fans cheering them on after England's semi-final exit against Argentina. King Charles welcomed a new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, to Downing Street on Monday. And now comes news that Charles and Queen Camilla are set to make a state visit to Spain in 2027, the first by a British monarch in nearly four decades. Spain, it is fair to say, is having a moment.

 

The last time a British sovereign made an official visit to Spain was in October 1988, when Queen Elizabeth II spent part of her tour in Mallorca, arriving at the port of Palma aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia, hosted by the then-King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. Charles and Camilla will be welcomed by very different hosts: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. Precise dates have not yet been confirmed, but the visit is expected in the second half of 2027.

 

The timing feels significant. The visit comes directly in the wake of the historic EU-UK Gibraltar agreement finalised in this month, which resolved long-standing post-Brexit border disputes and removed routine checkpoints between Spain and Gibraltar. That deal was widely seen as a turning point in British-Spanish diplomatic relations, and according to diplomatic sources, discussions between Buckingham Palace and the Spanish Royal Household are already moving forward with the aim of elevating the bilateral relationship to a full strategic partnership.

 

The two royal families already know each other well and, by all accounts, genuinely like each other. That warmth is partly rooted in something deeper than diplomacy. Felipe and Charles are distant cousins, connected through multiple European bloodlines, most notably as descendants of Queen Victoria, which makes them fourth cousins. They are also second cousins once removed through King George I of Greece.

 

Felipe's relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth was particularly close. She and Felipe were third cousins once removed, with the blood ties running through both sides of his family, as both his father Juan Carlos and his mother Sofía were third cousins to Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip. Felipe reportedly referred to the late Queen with the affectionate nickname "Aunt Lilibet," a small detail that speaks to just how intertwined these two dynasties have always been.

 

That closeness has been evident in recent years. Felipe and Letizia attended Charles's coronation at Westminster Abbey in 2023, and were photographed in warm conversation with the newly crowned King at the Buckingham Palace reception afterwards. They had also paid their respects at Queen Elizabeth's funeral, viewing her coffin during the Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall. Felipe had previously visited Charles at Clarence House in November 2022, with those present describing the encounter as notably jovial. The Spanish King and Queen last made a full state visit to Britain in July 2017, when Felipe addressed both Houses of Parliament.

 

It will not be Charles's first time in Spain by any means. As Prince of Wales, he made regular visits to Mallorca with the family, including the late Lady Diana, and also travelled alone to Deià in the Tramuntana mountains to paint, staying at La Residencia. Spain was, for many years, a personal retreat as much as a diplomatic destination.

 

Should a state banquet be organised, as is customary on visits of this kind, it could offer Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía a memorable first official engagement. The Royal Collection may also curate a special exhibition to mark the occasion, as it did during Felipe's 2017 visit to Britain, when items connected to Queen Ena of Spain, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria and Felipe's own great-grandmother, were put on display.

 

For British expats living in Spain, it is another welcome sign that the relationship between the two countries is in a genuinely good place.

 

 

Images: wikicommons