Catalans protest against visit by King and Queen

Hundreds of Catalan independence supporters protested on Monday visit of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to rastern region as part of a royal tour across Spain.

Protesters carried photos of Felipe upside down and letters completing sentence "Catalonia doesn't have a king" during a march organised by ANC, region's largest pro-independence civil society group.

royals' visit comes as a barr of media leaks have revealed how king's far, former monarch Juan Carlos I, allegedly hid millions of untaxed euros in offshore funds.

Against that backdrop, royal couple are planning to visit all of Spain's 17 regions, intended as a show of support for citizens and ecomy as it recovers from first wave of pandemic.

Catalan leg of tour was initially planned for last week but royal officials postponed it and scaled it back due to spike in number of virus cases in Catalonia.

Tensions between separatists in Catalonia, population 7.5 million, and those in support of Spanish unity came to a head in late 2017 following a banned referendum met with police violence that led to prosecution of top elected officials and activists.