King of Spain issues stern message over Catalan crisis

MADRID - King Felipe VI of Spain spoke to the nation on Tuesday, two days after the Catalan independence referendum, which was declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

The king spoke amid a growing climate of tension with a general strike and protests in the Catalan region in which local police say 300,000 people took to the streets over the actions of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard during Sunday's vote.

"We are living serious moments for our democracy and in these circumstances, I want to speak directly to all of the Spanish people. We have all seen what has happened in Catalonia with the aim of the Generalitat (Catalan parliament) for the illegal proclamation of independence of Catalonia," he said.