At the end of August, Princess Eleanor will travel to Wales, to study the Baccalaureate in the UWC Atlantic College, a center where he will study for two years. And, from a “diplomatic” point of view, the consulate of Spain in Manchester will be in charge of looking after the heir of the throne during his stay there.
The Manchester consular post is, together with those in London and Edinburgh, uOne of the three that exist in the United Kingdom to support Spanish citizens who are in the country. And from the end of August, Princess Eleanor, a student at Atlantic College, will be among them.
Created three years ago
The Manchester consulate has a short existence. It was created in 2019, in the midst of the emergence of Brexit, due, as indicated by its owner, Laura García Alfaya, to “the claimed need for a more adequate provision of services to our citizens residing in the United Kingdom”.
It was launched by a decree of April 5, 2019, and currently the diplomatic headquarters has 27 members on its staff, who are in charge of fulfilling the different functions signed in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of April 24, 1967.
Its demarcation that encompasses Wales, the Isle of Man and counties in central England which are divided into four groups: North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands y West Midlands. Territorially, to the north it borders the Edinburgh consulate, which takes care of Northern Ireland, Scotland and the northern part of England; and by the south with that of London, which is in charge of the capital and the south of the country.
An experienced consul
Since the constitution of the consulate, the holder is Laura García Alfaya, graduated in Law and Journalism from the Carlos III University and the Autonomous University of Madrid respectively, with extensive experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because he has also been Deputy Director of the General Directorate of Consular Affairs in Madrid.
Before taking over the post of consul in Manchester, García Alfaya has worked in the Consulates General of London and Algiers, where she has acquired considerable experience, which will serve her, among other tasks, to provide the “diplomatic” assistance that Princess Eleanor needs during the two courses that she will take in Wales, and whose stay will begin at the end of this month.
Consulate services
Consulates, such as the one in Manchester, must perform multiple functions, such as cknow and study the commercial, economic, cultural and scientific life of the country, and especially of the area under their care to, where appropriate, inform those responsible for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Too promote commercial, economic, cultural and scientific relations between both countriesas well as friendly relationships.
Among the functions of the consular office, it stands out to provide assistance to the Spaniards who are in its demarcation, as will be the case of princess Leonor, if you need it or demand it.
Princess Eleanor’s Studies in Wales will last for two years –The courses 2021-2022 and 2022-2023–, with science and literature subjects and an interdisciplinary course, a creativity, action and community service program and a research monograph.
The princess make academic activity compatible with its institutional commitments in Spain.
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