Spain’s King Felipe VI and his wife Letizia are expected to be hosted to a state visit with Queen Elizabeth II in June.
Buckingham Palace confirmed in a statement on Friday that the visit is scheduled for 6-8 June.
An earlier visit had been postponed due to the crisis last year in Spain when key political parties failed to agree any form of power sharing after two rounds of inconclusive general elections.
President Donald Trump’s proposed state visit will be “later in the year”, according to a spokesperson for Prime Minister May. Earlier reports from police officials indicated that they had been preparing a June visit for the US president.
After it was announced that President Trump had been invited for a state visit, unease was expressed in Britain with more than 1.8 million people signing a petition in favour of cancelling the invitation. During an ensuing debate in Parliament, several MPs condemned the proposal in light of Trump’s refugee and immigrant policies.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, is to meet with the new president on Tuesday in Washington.
Trump has been very critical of Germany’s stance on refugees as well as its record trade surplus. He has also frequently queried the role of Nato and its funding.
Europe's most powerful leader has said that she is going to Washington not only as her country’s chief but also as an envoy of the European Union. Trump has stated his backing for Britain leaving the EU.
"I will of course point out that for us, our country and our membership in the European Union are two sides of the same coin," Merkel said in Brussels ahead of the visit.
The meeting will be a time for “an exchange of bilateral and international topics and for transatlantic ties which, we have always stressed, are very important”, the Chancellor’s spokesperson said.
Merkel will be accompanied by a host of business leaders from Germany, including firms such as Siemens and BMW.
Analysts will be watching closely as many aspects of the meeting as they can.
