ARCHIVED - Queen Sofia of Spain helps out at Alicante beach clean-up

Her Majesty joined volunteers at Almadraba beach in Alicante as part of a waste collection awareness campaign to stop marine pollution

Queen Sofia of Spain rolled up her sleeves and helped out during an initiative to clear rubbish and debris from Almadraba beach in Alicante at the weekend as part of a campaign promoted by SEO / Birdlife of the Libera Foundation and Ecoembes.

“It is an honor for Alicante to welcome Queen Sofia in order to make increasingly visible the need to keep our beaches and natural areas clean,” said the city mayor, Luis Barcala, who also praised “the exemplary civic, social and environmental commitment of Her Majesty in the face of this global problem”.

Queen Sofia, King Felipe VI’s mother, was present at the International Beach Cleanup Day initiative in Alicante on Saturday September 18 on behalf of the Reina Sofía Foundation, which regularly participates in outreach campaigns to prevent and solve marine pollution in Spain.

Other beach clean-up events were happening in neighbouring Murcia this weekend, though the participants were volunteers from the general public and not royalty.

Image: Ayuntamiento de Alicante