King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain on Sunday morning presided over the first October 12, Spanish National Day parade in Madrid since ascending to the throne following the abdication of King Juan Carlos in June this year.

The Royal Family paid homage at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Plaza Neptuno, before overseeing a parade involving around 3,000 military personnel.

They were joined by Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy and his cabinet ministers, except Economy Minister, Luis de Guindos, who is currently in Washington DC.

The presidents of the majority of Spain's 17 Autonomous Communities were also present, although Catalan President, Artur Mas and Inigo Urkullu, the Basque leader did not attend, as has been their custom in recent years.

This year's parade saw a return of the fly past from the Spanish Airforce, which this week celebrated its 75th anniversary. A total of 52 aircraft took part in the exhibition, which had been cancelled in recent years due to economic reasons. Some 27 of the aircraft taking part belonged to the Spanish air force, while the remainder were from the forces of other nations.

Following the event King Felipe and Queen Letizia hosted a reception for 1,500 guests at the Spanish Royal Palace.

This year's events, are estimated to have cost slightly over 1 million US dollars, roughly the same as the 2013 parade, although this year's cost does not include the cost of the fly past.