19 February 2026 - BritishSpanish Society trustees Jimmy Burns Marañón and Cristina Álvarez Campana were amongst invited guests at a reception held in honour of Ambassador Emma Aparici at the Spanish Embassy in London today.

Ambassador Aparici returned to the Embassy to celebrate with those gathered following her presentation earlier in the day to King Charles III at the Court of St James's.

The tradition of appointing ambassadors to the Court of St James's is centuries old and many of the same procedures remain in place. Ambassador designates are given diplomatic papers to present to the monarch, including a letter of credence written by their Head of State. The letter of credence states that they are being appointed as the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Ahead of the ceremony ambassadors are collected from their Embassy in a ceremonial carriage and driven to St James's Palace. On presenting their papers to the monarch ambassadors are formally admitted to the court and their papers are stamped 'appd', approved by the monarch.

Photo: L-R Carlos Magdalena, Jimmy Burns Marañón, Ambassador Aparici and José Maria Robles Fraga.