The republic’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, revealed this Thursday that he made an “almost irresistible proposal” to British King Carlos III to visit Portugal soon.
“I made him an almost irrefutable proposal, which should not be a state visit, because the king makes one or two state visits a year and they are very long. [e] still traditional,” Marcelo told journalists at the residence of the Portuguese ambassador to the United Kingdom, in London.
The Portuguese head of state suggested that the British monarch’s trip to Portugal would be “a short visit, focusing on what interests him, which is seeing the new Portugal in energy, digital, sustainable nature, being together with the British community”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa expects the response to be positive, despite Charles III’s busy schedule.
Last Thursday, the head of state ended a roughly 24-hour visit to London to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the Luso-British Alliance.
This morning at Buckingham Palace, the President was received with military honors and King Charles III was awarded the Grand Collar of the Order of the Tower and Sword, of Courage, Loyalty and Merit.
The honorary decoration is the highest bestowed by Portugal and was bestowed by Mário Soares on Queen Elizabeth II in 1993.
It is awarded only in “very exceptional cases to heads of state of countries to whom we owe our defense, because it is an award awarded to soldiers, rarely to civilians, for acts of heroism or for a career in military service and defense and security of Portugal,” he explained.
The United Kingdom was “in the fight for our independence in the 14th century, then the 18th century, then the 19th century, at crucial moments,” he added.
“Last time, in the resistance against Napoleon’s troops, the British presence was fundamental,” he stressed.
The two heads of state attended an Anglican thanksgiving service together [Thanksgiving] in the Queen’s Chapel [Queen’s Chapel]which was visited by Queen Catherine of Bragança (1638-1705) during her marriage to the English King Charles II.
The event was the culmination of the Portugal-UK 650 Activities Programme, an unofficial non-profit initiative that organized the celebration of the 650th anniversary of the Luso-British Alliance sponsored by the two heads of state.
The Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Alliance, signed on June 16, 1373 by Edward III of England and King Fernando I of Portugal, formalizes the rapprochement of the two countries provided by the Treaty of Tagilde, celebrated between King Fernando I and the Emissaries of the Duke of Lencastre, John of Gaunt, son of Edward III.
The alliance was renewed in the 1386 Treaty of Windsor and through several other treaties over the centuries.
Source: DN
