Prince Charles touches down in Madrid

Prince Charles kisses the hand of Letizia, Felipe of Spain's wife, while Camilla looks on. Photograph: Juan Naharro Gimenez/Getty Images

 

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have touched down in Madrid for a three-day visit, with the crown prince, Felipe, as host and Spain's so-called "pink" gossip press in eager attendance. In the most popular photograph so far, Charles is captured kissing the hand of Felipe's wife, the former newsreader Princess Letizia.

The ABC newspaper's website is running excerpts from a British embassy cribsheet reminding the Spanish of links between the two countries: the princes have blood ties via Queen Victoria; 13.5m British visits to Spain each year; Heathrow is owned by a Spanish company and Athletic de Bilbao football club was formed in a 1898 merger between a team of expat Britons and a team of Spanish who learned the game in Britain.

Wednesday 30 March 2011