King Felipe VI of Spain told Catalans that they could express their ideas “with respect for the law" | David Ramos/Getty Images Spanish king slams ‘disloyal’ Catalan breakaway leaders The monarch accused regional officials of dividing Catalan society.

Spain's King Felipe accused pro-independence Catalan leaders of "disloyalty" in a rare royal TV address Tuesday, and said he would strive to keep the country united.

"They have tried to break our national sovereignty," said the king. "With their decisions they have systematically violated rules that were approved legally and legitimately, showing inadmissible disloyalty towards the powers of the state — a state which those authorities represent in Catalonia."

The king assured the people of Catalonia that Spanish democracy protected their rights to express their ideas “with respect for the law." He told the people of Spain as a whole: “These are difficult moments but we will overcome them because we believe in our country and are proud of what we are.”

The northeast region held a referendum Sunday on whether to secede from Spain, in defiance of Madrid which had deemed it illegal. Despite heavy-handed police attempts to prevent it, nearly 2.3 million ballots were counted — less than half of eligible voters — and more than 90 percent voted Yes for independence.

Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont, who wants to use the vote to argue for a unilateral declaration of independence, said Monday his government would set up a commission to investigate alleged abuses of “fundamental rights." Thousands of Catalan workers went on strike on Tuesday to protest against police violence.

While it is rare for Felipe to weigh in on political matters, he joined thousands in an anti-terror march following the attacks in Catalonia in August.

His father, Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014, made a decisive TV address in 1981, ordering the armed forces to crush a coup attempt by paramilitary Civil Guards. This move was credited with helping to save the young Spanish democracy, following the death of dictator Francisco Franco a few years earlier in 1975.