Spanish Monarchs Return to Ceuta After 19-Year Hiatus as Border Tensions Persist

Felipe VI has spent the first twelve years of his reign before making his first official visit to Ceuta, a journey he is undertaking in the same month as his great-grandfather. The King and Queen Letizia will enter Ceuta’s City Hall, situated in Plaza de África, to begin a two-day itinerary that continues tomorrow in Melilla. This marks the first time they have officially set foot in both autonomous cities as monarchs.

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The previous royal visit took place in November 2007, when Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía arrived after an 80-year gap. The context this time, however, is markedly different: approximately 72,000 migrants crossed illegally from Morocco into Ceuta on 30 and 31 July, reaching a city with a resident population of just over 80,000.

What does Felipe VI’s visit to Ceuta and Melilla involve?

In Ceuta, the president of the Autonomous City, Juan Jesús Vivas, will hand the royals the keys to the city, a tradition observed with Juan Carlos I and Sofía in 2007. Their itinerary includes a visit to the Vicente Aleixandre school, concluding at the Muslim cemetery of Sidi Embarek. There, a religious ceremony will honor those who died attempting to swim across the border; dozens are buried at the site after Morocco declined to repatriate the bodies.

A key distinction from the 2007 visit is that the King and Queen will spend the night in Ceuta, whereas Juan Carlos and Sofía did not stay overnight.

Tomorrow, the focus shifts to Melilla. The royals are scheduled to arrive at 11:45am CET at the Assembly Palace; in the afternoon, they will visit the Pintor Eduardo Morillas school and meet representatives of Melilla’s civil society at the Melilla Puerto hotel. The Royal Household has mirrored the schedule in both cities to accord them equal weight, despite Melilla not experiencing an influx comparable to Ceuta’s.

Pedro Sánchez will not be accompanying them. The prime minister’s office, Moncloa, clarified that the premier does not typically join the monarchs on official trips. The minister on duty is expected to be Ángel Víctor Torres, head of Territorial Policy and in charge of the single command for the crisis.

A migration surge remains unresolved in Ceuta

According to the Interior Ministry, more than 70,000 people entered Ceuta from Morocco between 30 and 31 July. Sánchez visited the city on the 31st, describing the event as an attack on Spain’s territorial integrity. On 6 August, Felipe VI received Vivas at the Marivent palace during the King’s holidays in Mallorca; following the meeting, the Ceuta leader stated that the King wished to travel once the government deemed it appropriate. By the end of August, Sánchez confirmed the trip would proceed once conditions were right.

On 29 September, during a gala dinner marking France President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit, the King called for greater solidarity from European nations and labeled the situation in Ceuta “unacceptable”.

Since August, 11,026 people have been returned to Morocco, according to Torres: 10,513 voluntarily and 513 expelled.

Juan Carlos I in Ceuta and Melilla, November 2007

Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía visited Ceuta on 5 November, 18 years ago, before traveling to Melilla the following day. They spent approximately five hours in Ceuta, where the King reiterated an “outstanding commitment” to the city. It was the first visit by a monarch in 80 years.

Rabat reacted swiftly, even before the trip commenced. It recalled its ambassador in Madrid for consultations, and according to AFP, Mohammed VI viewed the visit as an offense to the patriotic sentiments of Moroccans. While hundreds protested in Tetouan and at the border, thousands of Ceuta residents cheered the King.

Alfonso XIII in Ceuta in October 1927

Alfonso XIII, Felipe VI’s great-grandfather, arrived in Ceuta on the morning of 5 October 1927 aboard the battleship Jaime I. He was accompanied by Queen Victoria Eugenia and General Primo de Rivera, then head of government. At the Puntilla quay, he was received by the high commissioner, General Jose Sanjurjo, and Ceuta’s commander-in-chief, General Agustin Gómez Morato.

The King inspected the troops and visited the Legion barracks in Dar Riffien, located in Protectorate territory, where the Queen presented a standard to the Tercio regiment. Later that afternoon, he observed a parade, attended a ceremony at Nuestra Señora de África, and concluded the day with a reception at the Municipal Palace, which the royal couple inaugurated.

They departed for Tetouan, the capital of the Protectorate, the following day, leaving 1,000 pesetas (roughly 6 euros at the time, equivalent to about 2,000 euros today) for Ceuta’s poor. According to El Faro de Melilla, the King had previously visited Melilla in 1904 to lay the port’s foundation stone, as well as in 1911 and 1926.

The timing proved significant. It had been six years since the disaster of Annual, near Melilla, where thousands of Spanish soldiers lost their lives—a severe blow to the monarchy. Alfonso XIII had been accused of encouraging the advance that ended in catastrophe.

This was followed by Primo de Rivera’s coup, which the King supported, and the 1925 Alhucemas landing, which paved the way for the end of the Rif War.

The Paramount newsreel preserved by the Ministry of Culture depicts Spanish and Rifian troops, once enemies, marching together before the King. Four years after this trip, his reign concluded on 14 April 1931.

Morocco’s reaction

Rabat has spent decades asserting sovereignty over the two cities, which have been under Spanish control since the 17th and 15th centuries respectively. So far, Moroccan officials have not responded to enquiries regarding the trip, and successive governments avoid mentioning Ceuta and Melilla in official statements.

A demonstration has been scheduled for 14 October in Castillejos to protest against the presence of the King and Queen of Spain in Ceuta and Melilla.

On Saturday, in his opening speech to parliament, Mohammed VI insisted that Morocco’s sovereignty tolerates no pressure, threats, or blackmail, describing relations with Spain as a “sovereign choice.” He did not mention Ceuta during the address.

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