Child rubs Spanish flag over the hand of King Felipe as royal attends Málaga equestrian exhibition

King Felipe attended an equestrian exhibition in Málaga today, where a child was seen rubbing the Spanish flag over his hand.

The Spanish royal was in Ronda to appear at the meeting of the five Real Maestranzas de Caballeria – noble militias created by the Spanish Crown – during the celebration of their 450th anniversary. 

Created in 1573 by order of Felipe II, the Royal Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda (RMR) was designed to be a cavalry training school.

Today, the organisation is in charge of the management of Ronda’s historic bullring, as well as promoting the country’s culture and heritage.

His attendance at the meeting of the five maestranzas – Ronda, Seville, Granada, Valencia and Zaragoza – marked his first visit to the mountain town.

He arrived at the area by helicopter, landing at the barracks of the Spanish Legion just outside the town.

After the meeting, the monarch watched an equestrian exhibition in the bullring in Ronda, which was also attended by around 2,500 Ronda schoolchildren.

Here, he was photographed engaging with the crowd, and smiling as he chatted to children and shook their hands.

One of the photographs shows a group of beaming children reaching down to greet the king as he walks past.

As the monarch reaches up to the youngsters, one of them is holding a small Spanish flag in their hand.

They reach down, and hold the flag over the monarch’s hand, all the while appearing to beam at their proximity to the royal.

At one point, a child handed a pin of the Atletico de Madrid shield to the king, as the royal reached out to shake hands. 

Felipe looked typically dapper for his appearance today, donning a two-piece suit with a single-breasted blazer. He paired the dark suit with a pale blue button-up shirt, and a patterned tie featuring a red design.  

Some 2,500 local school children were invited to the event attended by King Felipe (pictured) with many appearing delighted to meet the monarch

King Felipe (pictured, top) watches on during an equestrian exhibition at a bullring in Ronda in Malaga

The exhibition (pictured) followed the meeting attended by the royal of the five Maestranzas de Caballeria

Locals seemed delighted to see the monarch as he walked through the area, which he flew into by helicopter

The monarch appeared to be jokingly calling on the crowd to be quiet as he watched the exhibition from the royal box

The royal has been busy recently, and his appearance today followed his attendance at a Madrid event yesterday.

Accompanied by his wife, Queen Letizia of Spain, the royal stepped out at the National Sports Awards at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.

While attending the National Sports Awards, the royal couple handed out a number of honours to athletes. 

Among them, they honoured Spanish golf player Jon Rahm (whose trophy was collected by his mother Angela Rodriguez), and FC Barcelona’s midfielder Alexia Putellas. 

They also handed out an award to Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas, who currently holds the world record for women’s triple jump.