San Anton fit for a queen, but not for Juan Carlos
David Darmanin Spanish security officials turned down the offer to King Juan Carlos to sleep at the President’s Palace at San Anton over safety reasons, presidential sources told MaltaToday.
Spanish security officials deemed the Excelsior Hotel, in Floriana as a safer option: “Being the symbol of Spain, the King has had various threats by ETA,” sources said referring to the Basque separatist organisation. “The decision for the King not to reside at the palace was taken by an advance party that included security experts, Spanish police and the Presidential guard. San Anton is easily accessible and is located in a highly populated area, so it was decided that the best area for him to be well-protected was the Excelsior Hotel due to the way it is built, its limited accessibility and that the area could be secured much easier than San Anton.”
The bay surrounding the hotel was in fact monitored by a patrol boat.
The decision contrasts with that of Queen Elizabeth, who had accepted to stay at the Presidential Palace on previous occasions.
Director of Information Martin Bugelli said that San Anton Palace was indeed offered to the King, but that he “opted for other arrangements”. The DOI said the decision was taken “on the basis of protocol considerations which are not obliged to be communicated to the hosting State. We are therefore not privy to these considerations, and are not in a position to confirm or deny the conclusions you arrived at in this case.”
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