King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía will be centre stage today at a number of events organised to mark the bientennial anniversary of the Dos de Mayo 1808 uprising against Napoleon's occupation.

President Zapatero, opposition leader Mariano Rajoy, Madrid mayoress Esperanza Aguirre and a number of minor royals including Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia as well as the Infantas Elena and Cristina, will also take part in the celebrations that will kick off at 5pm in the Plaza del Pradillo in Móstoles, where the rebellion began.

After receiving the town's highest accolade - the Medal of Honour - King Juan Carlos will address the expected crowd from Móstoles Town Hall balcony.

Afterwards, the dignitaries will make their way to the Plaza del Sol in the town's new Sur district, where King Juan Carlos will inaugurate the Freedom Monument in memory of those who fought and died fighting the French invaders.
 
Goya war collection goes on show at Prado
By: thinkSPAIN
Monday, April 14, 2008

As part of a series of events organised this year to mark the 200th anniversary of the Spanish War of Independence, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía will be opening the 'Goya in Times of War' collection at the Prado museum in Madrid this morning.

The collection of 200 works completed by the disabled artist after 1795 following his recovery from a life-threatening illness, includes the recently-restored 'May 2nd 1808' and 'May 3rd 1808' (photo).

65 of the 90 paintings on show are on loan from numerous private collections and public institutions from across the globe. Thirteen paintings have never gone on show before in Spain and four have not been exhibited for thirty years.

This collection by the renowned Aragonese artist reflects one of the most turbulent periods in Spanish history.