Royal ambitions for Malaga City Council

CROWN Prince of Saudi Arabia, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, graced Malaga with his presence for a mere five hours on Monday, September 5, as one of his luxury yachts docked at the city port’s Muelle 2 dock.

The regal visitor was on his way back from Marbella following a holiday on the Costa del Sol, and he decided to pop into the provincial capital for an evening jaunt  on his 54-metre vessel ‘Mia Rama’.

Although he did not leave the boat, the brother of King Salman received a visit from Malaga Tourism councillor, Julio Andrade, who welcomed him on behalf of the mayor and presented him with a commemorative plaque.

The official also explained the cultural history of the city, and encouraged the prince to go for a walk around the old city centre before the end of his trip.

For his part, Muqrin was particularly interested in Pablo Picasso, and joked that he always buys plenty of good quality olive oil when he visits southern Spain.

He has decided to use his smaller yacht for this trip because it allows him to dock at more interesting places, such as Malaga, and assured the mustard-keen council member that he would recommend that his brother, the king, visits the city.