Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has confirmed that king Felipe VI will be present at the events to commemorate the attacks in Barcelona and Cambrils on 17th and 18th August last year. He made the announcement in a press conference, after this Friday's cabinet meeting, in which he also evaluated his first two months in office.
The prime minister said that the anniversary demands "respect and solidarity with the victims" from everyone. As such, he continued, "the government will always be there and the head of state too. We will communicate our solidarity to all the victims and families".
The monarch has not been officially invited to the ceremony being organised by Barcelona city council, whom the Catalan government had passed the hot potato to. At the start of July, Catalan presidency minister, Elsa Artadi, had said that the Catalan government wouldn't invited the Spanish monarch to any of the events they organise.
The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, said she would neither veto his presence, nor extend any special invitation to him "because the focus has to be on those affected". "The ceremony will be without political speeches and on the part of the institutions we shouldn't fuel any controversy", she said in an interview with TV3.
Also to have confirmed their attendance is the new president of the PP, Pablo Casado, who on Thursday called for no "spectacle or outrage" to be tolerated.