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Spanish king Felipe VI has now also joined the intensifying offensive from the Spanish state against the Catalan independence referendum. He made this statement in Cuenca, a city east of Madrid, warning that the Spanish Constitution "will prevail over any break of the coexistence in democracy", because it's the basis of life "together in liberty".

The king, in his speech at the National Culture Awards ceremony, specifically mentioned the situation in Catalonia, saying that "in the face of those who place themselves outside the constitutional and statutory law and who fracture society" he's convinced that "the rights that belong to the Spaniards will be preserved and the liberties of all the citizens will be guaranteed and protected".

“Coexistence in a constitutional democracy like ours is only possible if the laws which regulate and organise it are observed and followed by the citizens and by the institutions; if the rights and liberties of the citizens are protected and respected by the public powers," he warned.

The monarch, who said that liberty required many sacrifices, commitment and generosity, guaranteed that the liberties of all citizens "will be guaranteed and protected" and placed life "together in liberty" as a foundation of Spain's progress and an essential pillar for EU membership.