The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, celebrated this Friday, July 12, “the first and symbolic visit” of Princess Leonor de Borbón to his country and stressed that it is “a step oriented to the future.”
In his toast at the beginning of the lunch with the princess at the Palácio de Belém, Rebelo de Sousa stressed that “in fulfillment of a tradition born of a common history of almost nine centuries” he has had the honor of receiving the princess on her first official visit outside Spain.
“I greet your highness, your majesties and admired friends, as well as the brotherly people and state impressively represented by you, madam,” the Portuguese president said.
Rebelo de Sousa added that the predominant theme of this visit, the defense and protection of the oceans, is one of the main challenges of the future “shared”, above all, for the younger generations and intergenerational justice.
“It could not be a more important and topical issue linked to sustainable development, climate action and globalization with a human face,” he remarked.
“May this visit constitute the opening of a new cycle of our journey made of the past, present and future – he added – and may your highness, as always, with your great-grandparents, your grandparents and your parents who also knew and know Portugal and who are so dear to us, with the institutional convergence and personal affection of Portugal and the Portuguese at the service of our homelands and our peoples.”
Rebelo de Sousa then spoke in Spanish and asked for a toast to the princess and to the kings, Felipe VI and Letizia, as well as to the people and the kingdom of Spain: “And to our indelible and eternal alliance, friend and, more than friend, sister”.
According to protocol, Rebelo de Sousa made the toast before the princess, who said she was “very happy” that Portugal was her first official trip abroad and stressed that relations with Spain go beyond their neighborhood, as they translate into “a sincere friendship and a deep and mutual respect” between the two countries that make her “feel at home”.
The lunch was also attended by the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and his Portuguese counterpart, Paulo Rangel, as well as the respective ambassadors and the heads of the King’s House and the Portuguese Civil House, among other authorities.
The lunch followed the meeting of Rebelo de Sousa and the princess with two delegations and the imposition of the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, one of the highest distinctions of the Portuguese Republic, also received by Felipe VI (1988) and Juan Carlos I (1996).
They also took a stroll through the gardens of the official residence, which reflected the Portuguese president’s appreciation for Felipe VI’s daughter, the fruit of the close friendship that binds him to him since he came to office in March 2016.
Rebelo de Sousa received Leonor de Borbón officially and with head of state honors at the National Palace, although he welcomed her upon her arrival at the Figo Maduro military airport, something that was not initially foreseen in the program.
The agenda of the heiress to the throne in Lisbon, which lasted only six hours, was completed with a visit to the Oceanarium, also accompanied by the Portuguese president, with a meeting with young scientists working in marine conservation programs.