Egypt’s First Lady on receiving Spain’s royal decoration: ‘A gesture I will always treasure”

CAIRO – 19 September 2025: First Lady Entissar Amer expressed her heartfelt gratitude and deep appreciation to Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia for bestowing upon her the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic earlier this week.

“The medal of honor you presented to me represents a profound symbol of your noble sentiments,” the First Lady said in a social media post on Friday.

She added, “I will always treasure this gracious gesture with utmost respect and gratitude.”

 

The Grand Cross is the second-highest rank in the Order of Isabella the Catholic, a Spanish civil honor established in 1815 by King Ferdinand VII.

It is awarded to individuals, both Spanish and foreign, in recognition of exceptional contributions to strengthening Spain’s international relations and cultural or diplomatic ties.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the first ladt exchanged the highest state honors with King Felipe and Queen Letizia during a formal event at Al-Ittihadiya Presidential Palace in Cairo on Wednesday.

President El-Sisi awarded King Felipe VI the Order of the Nile, Egypt’s highest state honor. He also presented Queen Letizia with the Order of the Virtues in its highest class.

 

In return, and in recognition of the longstanding historical relations between the two countries, King Felipe VI bestowed upon President Sisi the Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, the order’s highest grade.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia started their first state visit to Egypt on Tuesday, accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares.

The king held talks with President Sisi, discussing Egyptian-Spanish relations and regional and global developments, including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, and also met with speakers of the Egyptian House of Representatives and Senate.

 

He and the queen laid a wreath at the Unknown Soldier Memorial, a pyramid-shaped monument constructed during the era of late President Anwar Sadat in 1974 in honor of the Egyptian and Arab heroes who lost their lives during the 6th of October, 1973 War against Israel.

The president and the first lady also accompanied King Felipe and Queen Letizia on a tour of the Giza Pyramids and the Sphinx.

 

The king and the queen then visited landmark archaeological sites in Upper Egypt’s Luxor, checking on key Egyptian-Spanish archaeological accomplishments, and inaugurating the new nighttime illumination project at Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple.

Notably, King Felipe leveraged his Cairo visit to strongly condemn the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, describing the suffering of its civilians under Israeli bombardment as “unspeakable.”