As King William-Alexander of the Netherlands watched the Dutch football team qualifying for the next round with a win over Australia on 18 June, the Spanish royal family saw the handover of power from King Juan Carlos to his son King Philip VI (Felipe VI). The ceremony sandwiched the Spain-v-Chile football game; the law approving the succession receiving royal assent at 6pm local time and the act of abdication being signed-off at midnight.
The royal ceremony happened on Wednesday, according to the speaker of the Spanish parliament, because that is how long it had taken to complete the legal formalities following the announcement of Juan Carlos’s abdication on 2 June. But, surely the Bourbons were hoping that the juxtaposition with the game would be a great symbol for what the old king said would “open a new era of hope”. After all Spain were reigning World and European champions. However, the Spanish football team also abdicated their title with the 2-0 defeat to former colony Chile. It is not the only time that football has proved to be an unreliable emblem for national rulers.
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