Institutional normality gradually reaches the most pro-independence places in Catalonia, and it does so with gestures that, in the case of this Sunday, are carried out by a minor. Nine minutes after the afternoon, Princess Leonor has arrived in Figueres accompanied by her sister, the Infanta Sofía. The King’s daughter claims her role as heir to the Throne with this first visit to the province of Girona, the city from which one of her titles is born. This is a historic moment, because eight years after the arrival to the Throne of Felipe VI and five after the declaration by the Girona consistory of the King as persona non grata, the Crown has returned to Girona. Because the highest institution of the State has the vocation to represent all the territories. And despite the events of recent years, the Foundation has its headquarters in Girona and it is normal for the Princess to visit the province.
The commitment of the Princess and the Infanta to attend Girona was not made official until Friday at noon, when the agenda of the Royal Family was published. As soon as it became known, Concordia Real mobilized to organize a concentration in favor of the Monarchy in Girona. The CUP also called her followers to a protest in front of the Dalí Museum tower, the meeting place of the Princess and her sister.
Nine minutes after five in the afternoon, the Princess of Asturias arrived accompanied by her sister at the Museum. The heiress in a white and red dress and the Infanta in a beige dress with black trim, both wearing espadrilles, barely noticed the cheers and boos, since both concentrations were far from the entrance.
Therefore, despite the noise from the street, Doña Leonor has appeared confident and smiling in her first public act after finishing the course in Wales and in the second that she stars with her sister alone. Inside the Dalí Museum, the sisters have been received by the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegría; the Government delegate, María Eugenia Gay and the deputy mayor of Figueres, Pere Caselles, attached to the PSC. There has been so much institutional normality in the event that the fact that the mayor, from Esquerra Republicana, a pro-independence party, did not attend, was taken for granted and did not detract from the event’s relevance.
After greeting the Foundation authorities, the Princess and the Infanta held a working meeting with young people who participate in the Foundation’s workshops, around 20 boys and girls, eight of whom took part. Afterwards, they have attended a Code workshop and then they have made a visit to the Dalí museum. The Princess and the Infanta have seen the Mae West room, where they have been able to observe the portrait of the actress; the dome where the painter rests and the Dalí d’Or room, where there are works by the artist. As a curiosity, the museum has not been closed to tourists and many have been surprised by the visit of the Heiress and her sister.
The CUP, under the motto
Fifty protesters called by the CUP gathered in the vicinity of the Dalí Museum. With two esteladas and a banner with a crossed-out crown, a citizen with a gray beret shouted proclamations such as “the Bourbon out”, “October 1 neither forget nor forgive” or “the Bourbons are thieves”.
The image contrasted with the growing number of Spanish flags that have been hanging from balconies throughout the morning. On the other side of the street, about a hundred protesters, these summoned by Concordia Real, carried Spanish flags and calmly awaited the arrival of the Princess parameters behind a banner that read “the future is Leonor”.
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