Spain’s King Felipe will visit the Canaries in June to lead the annual National Armed Forces Day, the main events of which are to be staged in the capitals of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The monarch, who holds the rank of captain general and commander in chief of the forces, underwent training at each of Spain’s armed service academies before being commissioned as an officer in the army, navy and air force and obtaining his qualifications as a military helicopter pilot.
Palace sources have confirmed that he will preside over an impressive air force and navy display in Las Palmas on 6 June and will then travel across to Santa Cruz de Tenerife to lead the centrepiece formal Armed Forces Day events twenty-four hours later.
The authorities in the Canaries are delighted that the islands have been chosen to host the main activities of the annual celebration, which often takes place in Madrid and sees thousands of military personnel take part.
Preliminary details of the programme, as well as other events organised around the commemoration, were given yesterday by Defence chiefs and the mayor of Las Palmas, Carolina Darias, who said the Gran Canaria capital has always had a profound respect and deep admiration for the work of the country’s Armed Forces.
Photo: Casa Real
