Walter Finch
KING Felipe VI of the House of Bourbon wowed crowds and shook hands as he made his inaugural visit to Ronda to commemorate the local cavalry training school.
Wednesday April 19 marked the 450th anniversary of his predecessor and namesake King Felipe II of the House of Austria signing the royal founding decree of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (RMR).
A rapturous crowd gathered on Avenida Virgen de la Paz with people on the street and balconies to welcome the King, who was not accompanied by Queen Letizia.
Felipe spent seven minutes greeting wellwishers amid clapping and cheers.
Rafael Atienza, the Lieutenant of the Brotherhood, came out to greet the monarch, who he presented with the staff of the RMR.
The King then passed through the gate that leads to the courtyard of the Farriers, under the watchful gaze of the bronze statues of Antonio Ordoñez and El Niño de la Palma, eternal guardians of the essence of Ronda’s bullfighting.
Felipe VI then presided over the general assembly of the five existing Royal Cavalry Academies in Spain (Ronda, Seville, Granada, Valencia and Zaragoza).
According to sources from the Royal House, in his speech Felipe VI emphasised that in constitutional and democratic Spain, ‘you have known how to see that ancestry and history also entail obligation and commitment.’
He also highlighted ‘the enormous value of fulfilling your social function.’
From there, Felipe VI went to the bullring where he occupied the Royal Box (which had not been used since September 1997 when his father, Juan Carlos I, attended the Goyesca Bullfight of that year) to watch an equestrian exhibition.
A total of 18 horsemen performed a demonstration of equestrian art, classical dressage, and high school riding.
At its conclusion, the monarch went down to the ring to greet the attendees.
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