King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia kicked off their first visit to Ceuta on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with residents of the Spanish city in North Africa as they grapple with a migration crisis that has strained relations with Morocco.

The royal couple will then travel to Melilla, Spain's other North African exclave, on Wednesday.

It will be the first visit by a Spanish monarch to the two cities since Felipe's father, Juan Carlos I, toured them in 2007.