Queen Sofia of Spain has cancelled an invitation to lunch with Queen Elizabeth because of an ongoing dispute between Spain and Britain over the territory of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar was originally owned by Spain, but has been part of Britain since 1713. This was agreed in the Treaty of Utrecht, signed after Britain captured the Rock of Gibraltar during the War of Spanish Succession. Since then Spain has made repeated attempts to get the territory back; two referendums have been held in the last 50 years to ask the people of the Rock to choose between Spanish and UK sovereignty and they voted to stay with the UK.

At the moment the main dispute is over fishing rights in the sea around the territory. Queen Sofia is staying away from the Jubilee celebrations to show public support for the Spanish government, which is disputing the extent of British fishing rights in the area.