King Felipe’s protocol error in the Barcelona New Economy Week awards put him at risk this Friday during the event. The monarch attended the event despite strong protests against the monarchy in Barcelona.
The king presided over the last event to close the week of official commitments in a meeting organized by the Consortium of the Free Zone to relaunch the Catalan economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
El Rey, en Barcelona para presidir la entrega de premios de la primera edición de la Barcelona New Economy Week-Bnew https://t.co/blMjndc8c9 pic.twitter.com/DahcvwPY8b
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) October 9, 2020
King Felipe’s protocol error at the Barcelona New Economy Week awards
During the handover, the king committed an imprudence that altered the protocol and put him at risk, especially in the face of the increasing cases of coronavirus in the country.
The king shook hands with one of the winners, something that should not be done due to the anti-Covid-19 protocol. The monarch realized his failure and began to shake his head. After the error, the head of state handed over the rest of the awards without shaking hands with the winners, as established as a protection measure.
The moment was recorded, the monarch is expected to be more attentive for the next official commitments.
Entrega de premios de la primera edición de la Barcelona New Economy Week-Bnew, que cuenta con la participación de 111 países.https://t.co/blMjndc8c9 pic.twitter.com/tFKACtgtS0
— Casa de S.M. el Rey (@CasaReal) October 9, 2020
Before the meeting, there were moments of tension when protests against the monarchy broke out. Shouting “Catalonia has no king”, hundreds of protesters rejected the king’s presence.
