At the invitation of His Majesty King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Sophia, His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master, Fra Andrew Bertie and the Grand Chancellor, Amb. Count Carlo Marullo di Condojanni participated in the meetings of the Heads of State and Government of countries of influence at the time of the Emperor Charles V. These meetings were held in Madrid and Toledo on the occasion of the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the birth of the great statesman.

Present were Their Majesties The King and Queen of Belgium, Her Majesty The Queen of Holland, the Princess of Luxembourg, the Prince of Liechtenstein, the Prince of the Asturias, the Presidents of the Republics of Germany, Austria, Malta, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Switzerland and the Head of the Spanish Government, with their respective consorts, as well as 22 Ambassadors representing other European countries and the Latin-American continent.

The visit of the Grand Master and Grand Chancellor started in Madrid on 4 October, where they were received, together with the other Sovereigns and Heads of State or Government, by His Majesty The King of Spain, and attended a premiere at the Opera in their honour.

The following day they took part in the inauguration of the exhibition “Carolus” organised in the historic fortress of Toledo with the contributions of countries historically involved with Charles V’s empire.

The Summit of the 11 Heads of State and Government and 33 Ambassadors proved to be invaluable and constructive for exchanging opinions and analyses on the topical themes of international politics.

The Order of Malta has recently organised an exhibition and conference on Charles V in Malta, in which numerous academics from the most prestigious universities and institutes of Europe and America participated as well as thirty Ambassadors representing the same number of European countries.