First Spanish Royal visit to Andorra in 602 years

KING Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia have arrived in Andorra for an official visit – which might not seem very newsworthy were it not for the fact they are the first Spanish monarchs to do so in 602 years.

And this makes them the first Spanish monarchs ever to do so, since Andorra's Parliament has only been in existence for six centuries.

One of the oldest – and smallest – in the world, the Casa de la Vall in the capital city, Andorra la Vella, was formally created in 1419.

Nestled into the Pyrénées and popular for skiing and hillwalking breaks, and for its duty-free shops, Andorra is also the only country on earth whose sole official language is catalán, the regional tongue of Spain's north-eastern region of Catalunya. 

In fact, the nearest heliport, and where HRHs Felipe VI and Letizia were 'dropped off', is in La Seu d'Urgell in the Catalunya province of Lleida.

It would never have occurred to the Spanish public that their Royal leaders had never made an official visit to Andorra, given the fact that it shares a land border with Spain and that anyone who heads north of the Pyrénées via any mode of transport more or less passes it en route – but perhaps this geographical proximity is the reason.

Indeed, few Spanish residents could even name the president of Andorra – but, currently, he is Xavier Espot, and his deputy is Roser Suñé.

Five parties have seats in Andorra's Parliament, which comprises a total of 28 MPs.

Although a sovereign, independent nation, the Principality of Andorra's official heads of State, its 'co-princes', are not resident there, and it is one of the few countries on earth that has two – in a similar way to HRH Elizabeth II's being head of State of the Commonwealth, Andorra's are the Bishop of La Seu d'Urgell, Joan-Enric Vives i Sicília, and French president Emmanuel Macron, both of whom were present during the Spanish Royal visit.

This makes it one of the only known countries where the head of State rôle is shared between a republic and a monarchy, between a secular and a religious leader, and one of only two which has a head of State who also holds an active ecclesiastical position – the other being the Vatican City, whose head is the Pope.

Their actual part in running the country is merely nominal, and was devised this way as a symbol of the spirit of equality, fairness and balance in relations between France and Spain.

Formal diplomatic relations were started with Andorra in 1993, at around the time when the United Nations officially recognised it as a sovereign State – until then, it had been a separate country, but not considered as such legally by the organisation, similar to the Republic of Kosovo which is recognised by 98 UN member States but not officially and unanimously.

The highest authority figure to have visited Andorra so far has been former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy, in 2015, exactly four years after Spain ceased to formally consider Andorra a 'tax haven'.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia's visit has started off with a tour of the city hall in Andorra la Vella, or the Comú, and HRH Letizia had planned a meeting with Andorra's education minister Ester Villarubla to find out more about the nation's system for including disabled pupils in mainstream schooling.

About a third of Andorra's population – 27,000 of them – are expatriates from Spain, many of whom have lived there for decades, and well over 100 of these were waiting to greet the Royals outside the Comú, some of them waving the red, yellow and blue Andorra flag.

The King and Queen generally provoked a positive reaction wherever they went in Andorra, and have been told time and time again that they are 'very welcome'.

One Spanish woman, Mamen, who has lived in Andorra for over 30 years, says it is 'fantastic' to see the monarchs in her country of residence as it 'helps put us on the map'.

Another Spaniard living there, María, said that if it were not for the pandemic, the entire nation – about 78,000 people in all – would be out on the streets to welcome the King and Queen.

Under normal circumstances, they would have organised a reception for all 27,000 Spaniards living in Andorra, plus the 3,000 or so who commute between the two countries daily for work, but with everyone seeking to avoid crowds as a result of the pandemic, this cannot go ahead.

But now the Spanish Royals have finally set foot in the country in an official capacity for the first time in 602 years, it seems unlikely they will leave it so long before doing so again.

In fact, King Felipe will be back there on duty on April 21, since it is Andorra's turn to host the latest edition of the Ibero-American Summit.

He will be joined by Spanish president Pedro Sánchez.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia have not gone abroad on a State visit since November 2019, when a Royal engagement took them to Cuba; they were due to make a similar appearance in the USA in April last year, but the outbreak of Covid-19 worldwide led to its being called off.

Non-State but 'duty' visits abroad have also been off the agenda for over a year – the last of these they made was in early March 2020, to Paris, just before lockdown.