Miami - The king and queen of Spain on Thursday celebrated the 450th anniversary of the first Spanish settlement in Pensacola, Florida, believed to be among the earliest European colonies in the United States.

In a speech in English from the balcony of the TT Wentworth Jr Florida State Museum, King Juan Carlos I said the settlement of Pensacola represented "an extraordinary example of Spain's valuable contribution" to the United States.

Queen Sofia and the king were cheered by an enthusiastic crowd of about 3,000 people.

"They are so personable," said Pensacola native Philip Davis, 43, who waited hours in line for the monarchs to arrive. "I told the queen, 'Viva Espana!" he was quoted as saying by the Pensacola News Journal.

Pensacola embodies the common history of Spain and the US, Juan Carlos said in brief remarks.

The king and queen started the day with breakfast with about 45 Spanish citizens before proceeding to lay a wreath at Fort George, site of a 1781 battle between the Spanish and British to reconquer Florida.

A royal lunch was hosted at the Pensacola naval air station, where the couple was joined by an estimated 500 guests, most of whom paid 250 dollars to attend.

The Spanish monarchs arrived late Wednesday in the US after state visits to Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Their visit didn't elicit much media interest.

That this royal trip went quite unnoticed was in striking contrast to the flurry of media attention during the May 2007 visit of England's Queen Elizabeth to Jamestown, Virginia
- the first British settlement in the US.

Juan Carlos and Sophia will spend a mere 17 hours in the US, during which time they will wine and dine at the Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival in Miami, with celebrities such as Grammy Award winners Gloria Estefan and Julio Iglesias.

The monarchs did not meet US President Barack Obama, who was in Canada Thursday on his first foreign trip since his inauguration on January 20.

Last week, Obama spoke to Juan Carlos and conveyed "his desire to build on the close relationship the United States and Spain enjoy."

As the story goes, Spanish sailor Tristan de Luna Arellano arrived from Mexico in Pensacola on August 15, 1559, on 11 ships with a contingent of more than 1,400 soldiers, domestic help, settlers, priests and Mexican Indians from Veracruz.

But a hurricane lashed the area a few weeks later, and the Spaniards stayed on for barely two years before fleeing. Most of the survivors moved to South Carolina on the Atlantic coast or returned to Mexico.

Arellano, who had embarked on the journey from Mexico under the new title of governor of Florida, was dismissed on his return to Spain for his failures. The Spaniards did not attempt to settle in the area again for another 135 years.

On Friday, the royal couple will attend a business meeting on renewable energy and open the Spanish pavilion at the food and wine festival before flying back to Spain. (dpa)