Speech by HRH The Prince of Asturias at the 1981 Prince of Asturias Awards Ceremony

I wanted it so that the backdrop for the first public words uttered in my life would be precisely this Principality of Asturias, whose title I so honourably hold.

Words in order to express the satisfaction that I feel upon once more being in this land to which I am closely tied, and presiding over, also for the first time, at my father´s behest, a ceremony as significant as the one we are celebrating.

My congratulations to those who have received the Awards bearing my name and to the members of the juries who have exercised their good judgement in selecting them.

Thank you to all those who are in attendance here today in order to carry out a ceremony that holds great promise for the future.

And lastly, my most sincere felicitation to the Foundation, whose important task is now underway and that ought to attain a notable and effective significance, to the benefit of this beloved Asturias, which I carry and will always carry in the deepest recesses of my heart.