Spain's King Felipe VI to meet Mexico's Sheinbaum on June 25, capping diplomatic thaw after years of tension

A diplomatic thaw

Spain's King Felipe VI will meet Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico City on Thursday, June 25, the Spanish royal household announced, a clear sign of warming ties after years of diplomatic strain. The bilateral meeting at the National Palace will take place a day before the monarch travels to Guadalajara for Spain's World Cup group-stage match against Uruguay.

“This trip is part of an intensification of bilateral relations.”

The June 25 meeting

The King will be accompanied by Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares and Education and Sports Minister Milagros Tolón. Sheinbaum had confirmed on Tuesday that a meeting was 'probable' and final arrangements were completed the following day. The visit comes after months of careful fence-mending.

“This sports event is a fitting opportunity to highlight the deep and singular bonds between Mexico and Spain, forged by historical brotherhood and rooted in a shared legacy of language, culture, and collective memory, filled with great displays of solidarity, empathy, and a humanist vision among our peoples.”

From confrontation to reconciliation

Diplomatic relations frayed in 2019 when then-President Andrés Manuel López Obrador demanded the Spanish crown apologise for abuses during the 16th-century conquest. Sheinbaum continued the demand and excluded the King from her October 2024 inauguration, prompting Spain to send no official representation. The ice began to break in October 2025 when Spain's foreign minister acknowledged 'pain and injustice' inflicted on indigenous peoples. Then, in March 2026, Felipe VI said during a Madrid exhibition:

“There was a lot of abuse and ethical controversies in the conquest.”

Sheinbaum called those words a 'gesture of rapprochement'. In April, she visited Barcelona for a progressive summit, where she asserted that there had never been a diplomatic crisis.

World Cup catalyst

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States, provided a natural opening. Sheinbaum sent an invitation letter on February 3; the palace said it received the gesture 'with pleasure' and confirmed the King's trip on May 18. Spain drew 0-0 against Cape Verde in its opening match and next faces Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara. The football spectacle adds a symbolic layer to the political rapprochement.