ROYAL BASILICA OF ATOCHA

While the guests walked to the Royal Palace, the Royal Guard Musical Unit in front of the palace played military marches and other musical pieces. The Prince and Princess of Asturias left the royal palace via the Prince's Door and went to the Royal Basilica of Atocha by car. The route was lined by a company of the Royal Guard. From the Royal Palace to the Plaza de Cibeles and on the way back from the Royal Basilica of Atocha to the Royal Palace the car with bride and groom was escorted by a motorised escort of the Motorcycle Section of the Royal Guard on Harley-Davidsons. The Royal Escort Squadron of the Royal Guard provided mounted escort from the Plaza de Cibeles to the Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha bearing the Guidon of the Prince of the Asturias. The escort was composed of a Squad of Scouts, a band of Bugles and Timpani and a Cuirassier Division.


Service at Atocha
The area of the Royal Basilica of Atocha was lined by a section of each branche of the three armed forces and a section of the Civil Guard. Bride and groom were welcomed at the door of the basilica by the Mayor of Madrid, the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid and the Prior of the Basilica Padre José Antonio Álvarez. Among the guests in the basilica wre the Madrid City Corporation, the Community of Black Friars attached to the basilica, and guests of the City Council, the Parish and others. The pieces of music were sung by the Choir of The Prince of the Asturias Foundation, conducted by José Esteban García Miranda. The carpet which was used during the ceremony was the same as for the wedding of King Alfonso XII in 1878.

Bride and groom went to the altar while the song 'O Gloriosa Virginum' by Felipe Pedrell was sung. Upon reaching the High Altar the ceremony begun with a prayer to the Holy Virgin. Afterwards the bridal bouquet was given as an offering and the Cántiga (medieval poem set to music) by Alfonso X 'Rose of Roses' was played. After a responsory the Salve Montserratina Chant by T. Breton was sung. While bride and groom left the basilica organist Father Jafet played the verses of Padre Antonio Soler's Regina Coeli.

The floral decoration inside and outside the basilica was the work of the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruit, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEDEX).


The car
The car in which bride and groom drove to the Royal Basilica of Atocha was a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV (Cabriolet, convertible) which was purchased in 1952.

Most important royal events that took place at the Basilica
  • On December 11, 1765, the Prince of Asturias (later King Carlos IV) and his wife María Luisa held the mass of velations (covering of the bride and groom with a veil during the wedding ceremony) in the basilica.
  • On July 19, 1803, the Prince of Asturias (future King Fernando VII) and his first wife María Antonia visited the basilica.
  • On October 21, 1819, King Fernando VII and his third wife María Josefa Amalia went to the sanctuary after the mass of velations.
  • On December 12, 1829, King Fernando VII and his fourth wife María Cristina attended the mass of velations.
  • On October 11, 1846, Queen Isabel II attended the mass of velations the day after her wedding.
  • Queen Isabel II started the pious custom of offering the Infantes born alive to the Virgin of Atocha in 1852.
  • On January 23, 1878, King Alfonso XII married María de las Mercedes Princess of Orléans, who died half a year later.
  • On November 29, 1879, King Alfonso XII married Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria.
  • On the first Saturday of November 1926 King Alfonso XIII presided over the carrying of the image of the Virgin from the Royal Trust to the Buen Suceso to the Royal Basilica of Atocha.
  • Infante Juan Carlos of Spain (now King Juan Carlos I) offered his children the current Prince of Asturias (1968), Infanta Elena (1963) and Infanta Cristina (1965) to the Virgin.


    Photos and Copyright: Netty Leistra