Spain's new King Felipe VI vowed to clean up the scandal-hit monarchy as he launched his reign on Thursday, cheered on by crowds waving red and yellow flags. Thousands of Spaniards put aside their World Cup misery to line the sun-splashed streets of Madrid, yelling "Long live the king!" The tall, former Olympic yachtsman Felipe, 46, and his glamorous Queen Letizia, 41, waved to cheering crowds from the balcony of the Royal Palace after he swore his oath in parliament.
Beside them stood their blonde, blue-eyed daughters: eight-year-old Leonor, now heiress to the throne, and Sofia, seven, plus the former King Juan Carlos, 76, who has abdicated. Earlier in parliament the new king swore an oath to serve the nation, standing in a dark blue military uniform by the royal sceptre and crown - though it was not actually placed on his head.
The king promised an "honest and transparent" monarchy after scandals that dogged his father Juan Carlos in a Spain recovering from recession. Felipe also pledged his "faith in the unity of Spain", where separatist tensions are high in the northeastern region of Catalonia. Lawmakers applauded as he finished his speech and turned to kiss Letizia - a divorced former television newsreader - who wore a white knee-length dress and coat by Spanish designer Felipe Varela.
The royal couple waved from an open-topped Rolls Royce as they were driven to the palace, where they shook hands one by one with some 2,000 guests at a reception. The celebrations offered a distraction from the national gloom of Spain's humiliating exit from the football World Cup on Wednesday in a 2-0 beating by Chile. "We have lost the World Cup but that doesn't matter. It is a new day and a new king. We have to celebrate," said Eduardo Chaperon, 24, wearing a novelty inflatable crown in the street.
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