What should a king eat? During the Spanish monarchs' visit to Montserrat, the chefs at the Hotel Abat Cisneros were responsible for resolving this issue. They planned a catered banquet in the gardens near the monastery itself. In addition to the king and queen, the visiting guests also attended, including government officials, Minister Jordi Hereu, the Spanish government delegation, figures from the economic and business world, and, of course, the monks.
Back to the planned menu. There were three stalls serving freshly sliced acorn-fed ham, Catalan cheeses, and grilled red shrimp. There were also cold and hot appetizers. The cold ones: vermouth in three bites; strawberry gazpacho with basil oil spherification; bluefin tuna tartar with tomato soup; crispy eggplant, ricotta, and truffle cake; steak tartar bun with Ibarra chili pepper and mustard mayonnaise; Marganell blue cheese macaroni with L'Escala anchovy cream; micuit Duck, fig jam and Montserrat carquiñoles, and Vic whip cornet with tomato caviar.
As for the hot appetizers: scallop with hollandaise sauce, parmesan and green sprouts; sobrasada and honey croquette; mini lobster cannelloni with mushroom cream; cod with hazelnut crust and black garlic; lamb glazed with a Pla de Bages DO wine reduction and cassava chips and tacos from Ral d'Avignon with pico de gallo and guacamole. As for desserts, the focus was entirely local: creamy sweets with Aromas of Montserrat; journalists were not able to try them. Sandwiches, Montserrat cake, and sweets were provided for them in the press room.
Did Queen Letizia break dress code?
Queen Letizia appeared in court wearing a sleeveless dress, but without showing her back or shoulders. Has she violated the monastery's rules of decorum? The dress code of the Basilica of Montserrat requires that the back and shoulders not be shown, as is the case with any basilica, as a sign of respect for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Specifically, it explicitly requests that the shoulders of both men and women be covered to "respect the religious and sacred nature" of the place. Thus, the monastery requests that "sleeveless, strapless, or backless shirts be avoided." However, the queen would have complied with the code because she did not show her back or shoulders, according to sources consulted at the abbey. The mention of sleeveless shirts is simply a recommendation, because what is required is that the back not be shown, something Letizia does not do. The dress code also requires that the knees be covered, that is, that "shorts, short skirts, or dresses that fall above the knee" be avoided. The queen's skirt fell well below her knees. Thus, in this respect, she complied with established dress codes.
The ceremony took place in a room next to the basilica, where these rules would not be required. Instead, he went to venerate the Virgin, where this code does apply.
![King Felipe VI, with Queen Letizia and the Father Abbot of Montserrat, Manel Gasch.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 16 9"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
