Spanish ambassador to Jamaica, Jesus Silva, yesterday said that a state visit of the King and Queen of Spain to Jamaica planned for December has been postponed to early next year and denied that the change had anything to do with a lawsuit filed against two Spanish-owned hotels over sand stolen from a beach in Trelawny in July.

“There is no link to the circumstances you mention in your paper,” Silva told the Observer yesterday.

The change of plans, according to Silva, was a result of “unforeseen engagements the King had in Spain” which would have decreased the amount of time the couple would have had for the planned state visit. “This is not uncommon in these kinds of international relationships”, said Silva.

He was responding to the lead story in yesterday’s Observer which reported that King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia had cancelled their December visit, setting off speculation that they did not want to be here in the middle of the controversial lawsuit.

The court action was filed on Monday by former solicitor-general Michael Hylton on behalf of Felicitas Limited against Spanish-owned properties Riu Jamaicotel and Fiesta Jamaica Ltd, as well as Palmyra Resort and Spa.

Felicitas, owners of the Coral Spring property in Trelawny, from which approximately 500 truckloads of sand were stolen, also named a company called Bedrock Building and Aggregates Limited as the fourth defendant in the claim.

Felicitas are contending that between June and July 2008, the defendants’ servants or agents unlawfully and without consent removed a large quantity of sand from its property at Coral Spring and delivered it to properties owned by Fiesta, Riu and Palmyra.

They are seeking damages for trespass; conversion; or alternatively delivery up of the sand taken from their property; costs; interest at commercial rates and “such further or other relief as the court may deem appropriate”. Felicitas estimates its losses at US$8.13 million.

The developers are staking their claim on forensic tests carried out by the Marine Geology Unit at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies and the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering at Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada which “support a conclusion that samples of sand taken from the defendant hotels’ properties are very likely to have come from the Coral Springs property”.

Yesterday, the Observer quoted a well-placed source as saying: “The feeling at the palace is that the timing of the visit may be bad because the royal couple could be embarrassed if they landed in the middle of a controversial lawsuit.”

However, Ambassador Silva, in response, said he was “very surprised to read this news because there is no cancellation of the visit, only a postponement and we are awaiting confirmation from the Jamaican Government for the dates we have suggested”.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with it because we received news of the postponement on Monday the 17th, and according to your newspaper, that was the same date the suit was filed,” he said.

Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister sent out a release announcing that the Spanish monarchs are now expected to visit the island on February 17 and 18 next year.

The royal couple’s itinerary, said Silva, will see them visiting Kingston, Montego Bay and the island’s old capital, Spanish

Town, where they’ll be handed the key to the city.

Also in Spanish Town, the King and Queen are expected to be brought up to date on at least two projects being funded by the Spanish Government. One has to do with rehabilitation of the Spanish Town General Hospital and the other is a youth training programme focusing on restorative behaviours.

According to the Jamaica House statement, the King and Queen were also scheduled to visit Trinidad and Tobago as part of their Caribbean tour but this has also been postponed.