Spain played an important role throughout the life of Otto von Habsburg. After spending part of his childhood and youth in the Basque Country, he remained closely connected to the country in later decades as well. As a Member of the European Parliament, he worked actively to support Spain’s return — through its accession to the European Economic Community forty years ago — to the political, economic, and cultural community to which it had long belonged by history and civilisation. The former Crown Prince knew Spain well and was very fond of it; the summer house he purchased in Benidorm in the early 1950s served not only as a place for family gatherings, but also as the setting for important political meetings.
For this reason, our Foundation attaches great importance to maintaining close relations with the ambassadors of the Kingdom of Spain accredited to Hungary. It was therefore a special honour to welcome Ambassador Luis Ángel Redondo, who recently took up his post in Budapest and brings with him extensive diplomatic experience, accompanied by Oscar Alberto Lema Bouza, First Counsellor of the Embassy.
Archduke Otto and Archduchess Regina in Seville, photo by Nicolás Muller (HOAL 15B 5-11)
During the meeting with the Head of Mission, discussions touched not only on current issues in Hungarian public life and the main directions of Spanish–Hungarian relations, but also on several notable figures of our shared cultural heritage. Among them were the Spanish photographers of Hungarian origin Juan Gyenes (János Gyenes) and Nicolás Muller (Miklós Müller), both of whom photographed Otto von Habsburg on several occasions. Possible areas of future cooperation with the Embassy were also discussed, with particular attention given to the approaching anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, in whose international support Spain played an outstanding role.
At the end of the visit, the Ambassador and his colleague viewed Spanish-related documents preserved in our Foundation’s collection, photographs taken by the aforementioned artists, and several decorations, including the insignia of the Order of Charles III awarded to Otto von Habsburg in 1951.
