King Felipe VI will be the one to bid farewell to Pope Leon XIV on 12 June at the Tenerife airport, representing the Royal Family, rather than Queen Sofia as previously announced by Zarzuela.

While initially the Royal Household indicated that the monarch’s mother would attend the farewell ceremony at Tenerife North Airport, sources from Zarzuela revealed on Thursday that Felipe VI wishes to personally see off Leon XIV.

In this way, the King will both welcome Robert Prevost upon his arrival this Saturday morning at Barajas, accompanied by Queen Letizia. It is also expected that the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, will join them for the farewell.

This will be the only activity involving the Royal Family during the third stage of the Pope’s visit to Spain, which starts this Saturday in Madrid, before moving to Barcelona and then onto Gran Canaria and Tenerife.

Reception at the Royal Palace

The Kings will welcome the Pontiff at the Royal Palace alongside the Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofia on Saturday morning, and will have a brief meeting with him before the official event attended by authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps.

The following day, the Kings and their daughters will attend a mass at Plaza de Cibeles, while the day after that, the Emérita Queen will attend the mass at the Almudena Cathedral. Finally, Felipe VI and Letizia are also expected to travel to Barcelona to attend the mass at the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia on the 10th.