Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Prince Naruhito Visit the Canal de Isabel II

Don Felipe and Prince Naruhito visited the Canal de Isabel II, which controls the water cycle in Madrid.

During his visit, the Prince of Asturias and Crown Prince of Japan toured the Main Control Center and activated carbon filters in the treatment plant, together with the President of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Gonzalez, Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos de Armas, the mayor of Majadahonda Foxá Narcissus, the Minister of Presidency and Government spokesmen of the Community of Madrid and president of Canal de Isabel II Management, Salvador Victoria, the general Director of Canal de Isabel II Management, Adrian Martin, and deputy director of Water Quality, Alfonso King, among others.

Currently, Canal de Isabel II operates 14 reservoirs, 81 groundwater catchments, 374 tanks, 18 pump stations, 13 water treatment plants drinking, over 16,000 kilometers of network adduction and a distribution network of 7,000 kilometers of sewer, 150 wastewater treatment plants, 30 depots and 236 kilometers reclaimed water pipeline for transport.

Canal de Isabel II is the public body responsible for the management of the water cycle in Madrid. The company was founded in 1851 and its launching marked the entrance to modernity.

Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Prince Naruhito at the opening ceremony Dual Year of Spain-Japan

June 11 - Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan co-chaired the very first activity of the Spain-Japan Dual Year.

During his speech at the opening ceremony of the meeting of the bilateral meeting for Spanish-Japanese business cooperation, Don Felipe has highlighted the cooperation between Spanish and Japanese economies Don Felipe also stressed that "the presence of Japanese industrial is also important for the pulse of the economy of our country. With more than 3,000 million euros direct investment in Spain, Japan ranks as the 12th biggest foreign investor in our country. Approximately 150 Japanese companies bring nearly 3,000 jobs to our country, thus contributing very relevant to the enhancement of skills and dynamism of our business." He also noted that the momentum of the business cooperation between the two countries will significantly contribute to the increase in economic and trade flows.

Don Felipe also expressed confidence that the Dual Year will help strengthen the relationships of the two countries, which began four centuries ago.

The Chambers of Commerce, in collaboration with the Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), the Spanish Confederation of Business Organisations (CEOE) and the Chamber of Commerce in Japan, has organized this meeting, which welcomed the various companies from both countries.

After the inauguration, the sessions continued, which analyzed the economic prospects of both countries, joint business ventured with third-world countries, and the promotion of collaboration between Spanish and Japanese SMEs. 

Prince Felipe and Prince Naruhito attends concert in celebration of Spain and Japan’s 400-year tie

June 11 - Felipe, Prince of the Asturias and Crown Prine Naruhito of Japan attended the concert in celebration of Japan and Spain’s 400-year tie at the Royal Theatre in Madrid. Prince Felipe was accompanied by Princess Letezia.

The concert was also attended by Senate President Pio Garcia Escudero, the chairman of the Constitutional Court, Pascual Sala, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, José Manuel García-Margallo, Ambassador of Spain in Japan, Miguel Angel Navarro, and Ambassador Eduardo Aznar.

This concert highlighted the official anthem of Spain and Japan’s bilateral ties, which was composed by Japanese pianist Mine Kawakami. The concert also featured celebrated Spanish and Japanese perfomers, including flamenco singer and dancer Miguel Poveda and the popular Barbieri Shoji Kojima Symphony Orchestra.

Crown Prince Naruhito is on a six-day official visit to Spain to mark the 400th anniversary of bilateral ties between the nations.

Crown Princes Felipe and Naruhito attend photo exhibit

June 11 - Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan rain were guests of honor at the launching of a photo expo highlighting the post-tsunami reconstruction of Japan after the tsunami of 2011. Present at the inauguration were the Ana Botella, Mayor of Madrid, Gonzalo de Benito, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Pedro Corral , Madrid’s Deputy for Government Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism.

King Juan Carlos hosts luncheon in honor of Crown Prince Naruhito Japan

June 11 - King Juan Carlos of Spain hosted a lunched in honor of Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan. The heir to Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne is on a six-day tour in Spain to commemorate Japan and Spain’s 400-year tie, which commenced June 10 and ends on June 15.

With King Juan Carlos were Queen Sofia, the Prince and Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Elena at the Zarzuela Palace.

The Japanese crown prince is set to preside over the inauguration of the "Year of Spain in Japan,” and a full program of activities is expected to keep the visiting royal busy.

The Prince of Asturias and the Crown Prince of Japan hold the honorary presidency of the "Year of Spain in Japan" and "Year Dual Spain-Japan", respectively.

The "Spain-Japan Dual Year" is aimed at promoting Spain in Japan, as well as fostering trade and understanding between the two countries, reflect the profound changes that Spanish society has undergone in recent decades and to promote a more dynamic and diversified relations between the two of the world’s most progressive countries.

King Juan Carlos takes seven percent pay cut

King Juan Carlos takes a pay cut

Amidst the worsening credit crunch that’s taking Europe by storm, Spain’s king Juan Carlos has agreed on a seven-percent pay cut. This puts his income 20,900 euros less  than previous year’s 292,000 euros.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Felipe loses 10,450 euros from his last year’s 131,000 euro salary.

The royal household aims to save 100,000 euros this year in the wake of protests over austerity measures that saw Spanish civil servants lose their Christmas bonus or equivalent to seven percent of their salaries. 

Prince Felipe of Spain at PYMES Symposium Closing Ceremony

Here are pictures of Prince Felipe of Spain, courtesy of Getty Images, during the PYMES Symposium Closing Ceremony. 

Prince Felipe of Spain at the PYMES Symposium Closing Ceremony.

The Crown Prince of Spain stands after being applauded
by audience and colleagues.

The Prince of Asturias delivers his speech.

The Prince with Esperanza Aguiree

Crown Prince Felipe of Spain

King Juan Carlos Attends Opening of Parliament

Two daughters missed ceremony. 

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King Juan Carlos attended official opening of Parliament, also known in Spain as Xth legislature. Together with the king are Queen Sofia, Felipe, Prince of Asturias, and her wife Letizia, Princess of Asturias.

The King's speech gave emphasis on the Parliament's duty to perform their responsibilities to seal people's “trust in the institutions” of Spain. The King also highlighted the importance of obeying the law, saying that no public figure is above the law. 

Among the issues that the King gave emphasis include the pressing concerns on the country's rising unemployment, calling the attention of those listening to him to act upon the crisis to curb its impact on the citizens. 

"All of you, deputies and senators, are united in the obligation to contribute with decisiveness and efficacy to getting over this crisis and its negative effects on citizens,” he said.

The King's two daughters, Infantas Elena and Cristina were not present on the event. This is the first time that the royal daughters missed the opening of Parliament since 1979. Royal insiders believed that their absence were linked to Cristina's husband, Inaki Urdarangin's link to corruption scandal. Since the scandal's eruption, Urdarangin has been banned from the royal family or from appearing in royal and public functions.

A royal spokesperson said they declined the invitation to one of Spain's most important political events, citing personal reasons. "They did not accept their invitation for different reasons. 

“It is their decision,” the spokesman said.