King Felipe VI's coronation attracts millions of tourists to Madrid
Thursday, June 19, 2014 @ 5:17 PM
TOURISTS filled the streets of Madrid this morning for the proclamation of King Felipe VI with visitors from the UK, China, Hong Kong, the USA and several Latin American countries – but not all of them had realised today was such an historic moment for Spain.
A 23-year-old student from the USA, based in Sevilla and travelling through Madrid on her way to start the famous Santiago pilgrimage burst into tears when she saw the police and Armed Forces flanking the city centre.
She rang her family in the States in a panic to tell them there had been a coup d'état – but fortunately a news reporter explained that the extra security was because of the coronation of Felipe VI.
The young student then began to leap around euphorically, shouting, “how lucky am I!”
A couple from Texas standing in the Plaza Callao, moved to tears by the event, said they thought the Royal children Leonor and Sofía were 'real cute' and that King Felipe and Queen Letizia 'presented a very youthful image of Spain'.
But they were surprised not to see a huge and solemn religious ceremony, since they had always believed Spain was a 'very Catholic country'.
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