Photo: The Spanish Royal House
The state visit to Finland ended in Lapland
King Felipe opened his speech in Finnish at the gala dinner in the Presidential Palace. The next day the royal couple laid wreaths in Helsinki, before the final leg took them to Rovaniemi and Lapland.
On Wednesday King Felipe and Queen Letizia concluded the Spanish Crown's first state visit to Finland in 37 years. The final leg took them to Rovaniemi in Lapland, where the King spoke about European security at the University of Lapland.
Finnish from the lectern
The social highlight of the visit was the gala dinner at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday evening, hosted by President Alexander Stubb and Suzanne Innes-Stubb. King Felipe surprised the guests by opening his speech in Finnish: "Arvoisa tasavallan presidentti ja rouva Innes-Stubb", meaning "Esteemed Mr President and Mrs Innes-Stubb", before continuing with "Hyvät naiset ja herrat" and "Hyvää iltaa", good evening. The President responded by giving part of his own speech in Spanish, which the King thanked him for.
In his speech the King argued for a Europe that is "strong and determined, resilient and able to act", and said that protecting the common external border is the responsibility of the whole union.
Wreaths at Hietaniemi
Wednesday began at Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki, where the royal couple laid wreaths at the Heroes' Cross and at Marshal Mannerheim's grave, together with the presidential couple. The King then attended a business breakfast, before both couples were shown around the exhibition "Alvar Aalto and Contemporary Spanish Architecture" at Finlandia Hall. The exhibition shows how the Finnish architect has influenced Spanish colleagues, and what traces Spanish architecture has left in Finland.
Soldiers and Sámi in the north
From Helsinki the journey went north to Rovaniemi. King Felipe visited the air base in Lapland and met conscripts, with the Finnish and Spanish flags flying side by side above the square.
The royal couple then visited the Arktikum science centre and museum, where they met representatives of the city of Rovaniemi, the province of Lapland and the Sámi people, and went through the exhibitions.
On the flanks
The visit concluded at the University of Lapland, where both the King and President Stubb gave speeches and met students. There King Felipe said:
"Any threat to the southern flank is also a threat to the northern flank. A threat to the eastern flank is also a threat to the western one. And vice versa."
Spain and Finland are members of both the EU and NATO. The state visit ran from 5 to 7 October, and was the first by the Spanish Crown to Finland since King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía came to Helsinki in 1989.