Felipe VI asks for "loyalty" to the European Union in "one of the most crucial moments in history"

• Monarchy The Royal Family celebrates the traditional audiences prior to the ceremony of the Princess of Asturias

The Spanish Royal House prepares with small gestures the relief of Doña Leonor in the Princess of Asturias awards.

Because when the Heiress turns 18, she will be the one who bears the weight of the ceremony, which until then is always closed by her father, King Felipe VI, with a speech.

For this reason, this year the words of the Monarch have occupied less space than usual, giving her eldest daughter more time to speak.

But the weight of the message that the Head of State wanted to send was carried by Don Felipe.

"

", the King summed up near the end of his speech, which focused on condemning the war in Ukraine and the need to claim the European Union as a link for all.

Don Felipe asked that it not be forgotten that "the origin of the current European Union was

after the devastation caused by the two great world wars”.

For this reason, he insisted that "we must persevere to consolidate this project, which has united us so much and continues to unite us", he said before listing the values ​​of the Union: "freedom, equity, respect for human rights and democratic principles" .

This project, he asked him, "

and all our commitment at one of the most crucial moments in our recent history."

The King spoke of the war as one of the "enormous challenges" facing Europe.

Don Felipe insisted that Russia's attack on Ukraine “is

and irreparable damage;

that brings with it the terrible memory and the heavy shadow of other times, threatening our present and our future," said Don Felipe, who described this moment as "a horror."

The King wanted to remember that wars

"projects for the future."

But not only that, the Monarch affirmed that another of the victims of the conflicts is "everything that enriches us as human beings and that constitutes a legacy transmitted from generation to generation", in reference to libraries, schools, music... That, Don Felipe affirmed that «war

, nor the values ​​it represents;

nor the freedom and dignity of human beings.

The King also wanted to send a message to all the young people, and he did so referring to his daughters: "Dear Leonor and Sofía", he said, looking at them in a fatherly gesture, which they responded with attention.

"You are becoming more and

of the role played by our winners", for this reason, he encouraged them -and "all the young people of your generation"- to let their example inspire their lives "because they represent values ​​and qualities that are increasingly most indispensable in this 21st century.

Leonor's "I care"

Moments before the King delivered his speech, which provoked several minutes of applause and closed the Awards ceremony, the Princess of Asturias had gone up to the lectern to gloss over the benefits of the winners.

The Heiress to the throne, who appeared at the Campoamor Theater in a black and white dress, stated that she had read about each of the winners: «I am impressed by everything they have achieved.

», assured the young woman, who will be 17 years old on Monday and she has been interested in the most relevant stories of each of the winners for several months.

Thus, beginning each paragraph with the formula "I care", she glossed her impressions of the winners.

María Pagés and Carmen Linares "achieve the harmony of those who evolve and at the same time maintain the essence of tradition," he said.

“It matters to me and it shocks me that Adam Michnik is not afraid to do responsible and rigorous journalism,” he confessed about the writer.

Of the archaeologist Matos Moctezuma he appreciated that "the past reveals us to understand what we are and what ancient and current societies have in common";

The Princess was pleased that Juan Mayorga's award serves so that her "special look" of hers, she affirmed, "is valued as they deserve and helps us to ask ourselves questions."

Doña Leonor also recalled the need to invest "resources and attention" in

field to which the four winners of Science are dedicated.

And the young woman said that she is very concerned "that an athlete cannot train and progress in his career because he has been forced to flee his country," and she praised the work of the Refugee Olympic Team and the Foundation of the.

Regarding the architect Shigeru Ban, she stated that she cares that "he cares about the people who have lost their homes" and about Ellen MacArthur, she highlighted that "he proposes solutions to prevent the loss of biodiversity."

"Young

that the current situation is not easy, that the world has changed and continues to change," said the Princess at the end of her words.

King Felipe, Queen Letizia -dressed as Carolina Herrera- and Infanta Leonor followed his speech attentively from the stage.

In the stalls, her maternal grandmother,

;

and in her box of honor,

, who arrived in Oviedo yesterday at around one in the afternoon.

They all proudly applauded the Heiress on one of the days where she is the protagonist.

Conforms to The Trust Project criteria

Know more

• Philip VI

• Europe

• European Union

• Princess Eleanor

• Oviedo

• Real home

• Princess of Asturias Awards

• Queen Letizia