The British ambassador to Spain, Alex Ellis, assured a group of journalists, including DiplomacyNews, that the agreement reached by the governments of London and Madrid regarding Gibraltar will be beneficial for all the inhabitants of the area: “it gives opportunities to Gibraltarians and also to Spaniards in La Línea”.
During the celebration of the National Day of the United Kingdom last Wednesday, the ambassador expressed great satisfaction with the work done in the last three years to reach an agreement within the framework of the pacts reached with the European Union, which “we now have to sign and implement” for everything to come into effect. If all goes well, tomorrow, July 15 is the expected date to definitively eliminate the Fence that has separated the Rock from the Campo de Gibraltar for decades. According to the ambassador, “we are very advanced with the preparations for its dismantling, which will bring many opportunities for everyone on both sides of the Fence.”
Taking advantage of the fact that the celebration commemorates the birthday of King Charles III, the ambassador also referred to the “new challenges” facing the monarch, who is entering his fourth year on the throne, and highlighted that in a monarchy “there is always a certain continuity, but there are also the king’s own objectives, which are his commitment to the environment, support for Ukraine, and help for young people.”
After congratulating each other on the achieved goal, Ellis gave a very positive assessment of his two years at the head of the British Embassy in Madrid and assured more than 400 guests —including the Secretary of State for the EU, Fernando Sampedro; the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez Almeida; and the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Lilian Greenwood— who gathered at his residence to celebrate the birthday of King Charles III, that “today we celebrate the human connection between the United Kingdom and Spain, which has often been reflected through our shared love for sport.”
From Spanish victories at Wimbledon to the consolidation of the women’s football teams of Spain and England as the best in the world, sport is one of the elements of unity -and rivalry- between Spaniards and Britons, said Ellis.
The celebration of the King’s Birthday Party highlighted that shared passion, with an eye on the men’s football World Cup, in which Spain, Scotland, and England will participate, as well as the upcoming Formula 1 Grand Prix in Madrid in September.
In fact, among the decorative elements stood out a Formula 1 car from the British Atlassian Williams F1 Team, as well as a photographic exhibition by artist Madeleine Penfold, and a display of freestylers who entertained guests with football tricks.
Sport was also present on the menu with strawberries and cream, a classic served every year on the courts of Wimbledon, where a century ago the Spanish Lili Álvarez and the British Kitty McKane faced each other in the final. In 2027, more than a hundred years after that historic match, the United Kingdom will host the start of the men’s and women’s Tour de France with the presence of the Spanish team Movistar Team.
The ambassador, in addition to the strawberries from Wimbledon, humorously listed some more products from the islands —Scottish salmon, Northern Irish beef, and English sparkling wine— before jokingly requesting from Fernando Sampedro the signing “of the agricultural agreement that is on the table and has been waiting for more than a month with the European Union.” That’s what English humor is like.
