Good night.
40 years ago, in this same Hall of Columns of the Royal Palace of Madrid, the treaty by which we entered the European Communities was signed. It has also been 50 years since the start of our democratic transition. These birthdays encourage me to speak to you, this Christmas evening, about coexistence; of our democratic coexistence, through the memory of the path traveled and confidence in the present and the future.
The Transition was above all a collective exercise in responsibility. It was born from the common desire to build a future of freedom based on dialogue. Those who led this process ultimately succeeded in ensuring that the Spanish people as a whole were the true protagonists of their future and fully assumed their sovereign power. Even with their differences and doubts, they were able to overcome their disagreements and transform uncertainty into a solid starting point, without being sure of achieving what they were looking for. This courage – that of moving forward without guarantees, but united – is one of the most valuable lessons they taught us.
The result of this impulse was our Constitution of 1978, the set of common objectives on which our present and our living together are built, a framework broad enough for us all to enter into, in all our diversity.
Christmas message from His Majesty the King
Royal Palace of Madrid, December 24, 2025
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Our integration into the European integration process was the other decisive, exciting and mobilizing step. And it was also the result of a collective commitment: that of a country which wanted to close a stage marked by a prolonged distance from a Europe with which we share principles and values and a common project for the future. Europe has not only brought modernization and economic and social progress: it has strengthened our democratic freedoms.
This historical perspective allows us to see that Spain has experienced an unprecedented transformation over these five decades, which has allowed it to consolidate democratic freedoms, political pluralism, decentralization, openness to the outside world and prosperity.
Our society is forged by generations who remember the Transition and by others who did not experience it and who were born and raised in democracy and freedom. Generations of older people who have seen Spain change like never before in our history; generations of adults who reconcile, at the cost of great effort, professional, family and personal responsibilities; and generations of young people who today face new difficulties with initiative and commitment.
Christmas message from His Majesty the King
Royal Palace of Madrid, December 24, 2025
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All are necessary to move forward in a fair and coherent manner. And I address them all.
We certainly live in demanding times. Many citizens believe that the rising cost of living limits their opportunities for advancement; that access to housing constitutes an obstacle to the projects of so many young people; that the rapidity of technological progress generates uncertainty regarding employment; or that climatic phenomena constitute a growing and sometimes tragic situation. We are facing many challenges… And citizens also perceive that the tension in public debate causes boredom, disenchantment and disaffection. Realities, all of them, which cannot be resolved by rhetoric or voluntarism.
Throughout these 50 years, our country has repeatedly demonstrated that it knows how to respond to internal and external challenges when there is will, perseverance and vision of the country. We have seen it in economic crises, in health emergencies, in the face of natural disasters, and we also see it every day in the calm and responsible work of millions of people.
Spain progressed when we were able to find objectives to share. And the root of any shared project is necessarily coexistence. I have already spoken about it several times, but it is the basis of our democratic life. Those who came before us were able
Christmas message from His Majesty the King
Royal Palace of Madrid, December 24, 2025
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build even in difficult circumstances, like those of 50 years ago.
But coexistence is not an eternal legacy. It is not enough to have received it: it is a fragile construction. This is why we must all make the concern for coexistence our daily work. And for that, we need trust.
In this turbulent world, where multilateralism and the world order are in crisis, democratic societies are going through, and we are going through, a worrying crisis of confidence. And this reality seriously affects the minds of citizens and the credibility of institutions.
Extremism, radicalism and populism feed on this lack of trust, misinformation, inequality, disenchantment with the present and doubts about how to approach the future.
It is not enough to remember that we have been there before, that we already know this chapter of history and that it has had disastrous consequences. It is up to all of us to preserve confidence in our democratic coexistence. Let us ask ourselves, without looking at anyone, without seeking the responsibilities of others: what can each of us do to strengthen this coexistence? What red lines should not be crossed?
Christmas message from His Majesty the King
Royal Palace of Madrid, December 24, 2025
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I speak of dialogue, because the solutions to our problems require the participation, responsibility and commitment of all; I’m talking about respecting language and listening to the opinions of others; I am talking about a particular exemplarity in the exercise of all public powers; also empathy; and the need to place the dignity of human beings, particularly the most vulnerable, at the center of all discourses and policies.
Let us remember, on this Christmas Eve, that in a democracy, our own ideas can never be dogmas, nor those of others, threats; that moving forward consists of taking steps, with agreements and renunciations, but in the same direction, without being to the detriment of the fall of the other; that Spain is above all a shared project: a way of bringing together – and realizing – individual interests and aspirations around the same notion of common good.
Each historical era has its own challenges. There are no easy paths. Ours are neither more nor less than those of our parents or grandparents. But we have a great asset: our ability to navigate them together.
Let’s do it with the memory of these 50 years and let’s do it with complete confidence. Fear only builds barriers and generates noise,
Christmas message from His Majesty the King
Royal Palace of Madrid, December 24, 2025
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and barriers and noise prevent us from understanding reality in its full extent.
We are a big country. Spain is full of initiatives and talents, and I believe that the world needs more than ever our sensitivity, our creativity and our capacity for work, our sense of justice and fairness and our determined commitment to Europe, its principles and its values.
We can achieve our goals, with success and mistakes, if we undertake them together; all participating, proudly, in this great project of common life that is Spain.
With the conviction that we will be able to move forward together in this direction, receive my best wishes for these days and the new year, as well as those of the Queen and those of our daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía.
Merry Christmas to everyone. Eguberri, Bon Nadal, Boas Festas.
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