King Felipe and Queen Letizia visit Ceuta for the first time since ascending the throne, following the migrant crisis

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain are visiting the enclave of Ceuta today and tomorrow, for the first time since the monarch ascended to the throne in 2014. The visit takes place two and a half months after the migrant crisis that affected the Spanish territory in North Africa.

Felipe VI has not yet visited Ceuta or Melilla, the two Spanish exclaves claimed by Morocco. The last visit by a Spanish monarch to these territories took place in November 2007, when King Juan Carlos triggered a diplomatic crisis with Rabat.

At the end of July, more than 70,000 migrants entered Ceuta, swimming or on foot, from Morocco. According to Spanish and Moroccan authorities, more than one hundred people died, mainly at sea. Most migrants subsequently returned to Morocco, but several thousand remained in the enclave.

The situation in Ceuta deteriorated after this influx, with violence and almost daily demonstrations by local residents being reported. In this context, King Felipe argued that states located on the European Union's external border cannot manage alone the responsibility that belongs to everyone.

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