MOUNT VERNON, VA – George Washington’s Mount Vernon welcomes Their Majesties, The King and Queen of Spain, on Tuesday, September 15.

“Their Majesties King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia requested that the first act of their first official visit to the United States would be a visit to Mount Vernon as homage to George Washington, and to highlight the long-standing historic relations between our two countries,” said Ramón Gil-Casares, Spanish Ambassador to the United States of America.
While not an official ally of the United States, Spain played an important role in helping win the American War of Independence. The governor of Spanish Louisiana, Bernardo de Gálvez, helped fund the American war effort, and personally led successful attacks against British-held Baton Rouge (1779), Mobile (1780), and Pensacola (1781). The Spanish navy also combined forces with the French to threaten an invasion of Great Britain (1779), lay siege to Gibraltar (1779-1783), and capture the Mediterranean island of Minorca (1781). These actions kept the bulk of the British Royal Navy in European waters, and paved the way for George Washington’s capture of British General Charles Cornwallis’ forces at Yorktown (1781). During the war Washington had regularly cordially welcomed Spanish representatives and shared political and military intelligence. For their part, the Spanish regularly offered arms, ammunition, and other supplies, items particularly welcome during the scarcity of war.

Media interested in covering this visit, should rsvp to Melissa Wood ([email protected]) by 12 p.m. on Monday, September 14.
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