MADRID: The late General Francisco Franco, former President of Spain, was buried here today [Nov 23] at a Civil War monument north of Madrid. Earlier this morning, King Juan Carlos was cheered by thousands of Spaniards, when he arrived at the Royal Palace for a requiem mass for Gen Franco. Cries of long live the King rose from the huge crowd as the monarch and Queen Sofia mounted the mourners’ stand outside the Oriente Palace where the body of the 82-year-old General has lain in state… .

The royal couple was met by the General’s widow, Carmen, who was sobbing under her black veil. The crowd had gathered before dawn for the mass which preceded the State funeral… . The mass was said by Cardinal Marcelo Gonzalez Martin, Roman Catholic Primate of Spain.

The crowds were joined by representatives of foreign countries, who took their places in mourners’ seats outside the palace. They included US Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller, King Hussein of Jordan and President Augusto Pinochet of Chile. After the mass, the General was taken for burial at a grandiose monument to the dead of the 1936-1939 civil war in the mountains north-east of Madrid.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2025