Queen Letizia and the Press

[An Ard Ri]

There certainly is no other royal lady who receives so much negativity, especially in her own country, because in Spain there are some nasty articles that are far worse than any comment here on TRF.

That is what I find rather worrying about the attitude towards Letizia,yet Felipe is the beloved golden Prince.

I guess that nasty book by her cousin only fueled the fire of negativity towards the Princess.

 

[donnaK]

That is what I find rather worrying about the attitude towards Letizia,yet Felipe is the beloved golden Prince.

I guess that nasty book by her cousin only fueled the fire of negativity towards the Princess.

Why ? Felipe has always been a prince heartthrob in the Spanish speaking world , thus it's only logical that his wife easily becomes a target. Most of the attacks on Letizia initiated from a certain sector of tabloids or message boards, El Mundo is half serious, half tabloid. Since the summer, ABC has joined the full-swing anti-abdication campaign, of course they dare not openly attack Felipe yet, who knows what those old men would do if they become even more desperate. But even the monarchists are divided, if you look at another monarchist newspaper La Razon, it's on the opposite side of ABC.

 

[donnaK]

its quite a different sight, btw. NOBODY of the protagonists is drinking, while in Spain ALL protagonists were drinking (except one), and honestly, I wouldn't have noticed too much, if Letizia had not looked into her glass as if something really disgusting was in it before putting it away. Well maybe there was but it still looks unfortunate.

I doubt it's about a different sight, more about people. QEII didn't drink in many other occasions when others did, perhaps Obamas did the same. Letizia hasn't been drinking for years, why bring up the fuzz now ? ABC obviously has an agenda.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Why ? Felipe has always been a prince heartthrob in the Spanish speaking world , thus it's only logical that his wife easily becomes a target. Most of the attacks on Letizia initiated from a certain sector of tabloids or message boards, El Mundo is half serious, half tabloid. Since the summer, ABC has joined the full-swing anti-abdication campaign, of course they dare not openly attack Felipe yet, who knows what those old men would do if they become even more desperate. But even the monarchists are divided, if you look at another monarchist newspaper La Razon, it's on the opposite side of ABC.

Why is it 'thus logical'?

Prince William has been a Prince heartthrob in the Anglophile world and the same 'logical' hasn't happened to his missus,quite the opposite infact.

 

[Charlotte_Aster]

Prince William has been a Prince heartthrob in the Anglophile world and the same 'logical' hasn't happened to his missus,quite the opposite infact.

Well, Duchess of Cambridge had to endure some pretty nasty criticism before her marriage and also during their break-up. Also, she had the advantage of "only" being known as William's girlfriend. In fact, that is the only image people had of her. Throw in the fact that William suffered so much, people just wanted to live and witness a fairy tale. Also, William stated that he will protect his family from all kinds of media slurs and paparazzi nonsense. (Catherine even had a bodyguard long before the engagement)

The situation in Spain is drastically different. As stated hundreds of times in this thread, SRF didn't do anything to protect Letizia or her family. In fact, they prefered it (and apparently still do). And the fact that Letizia "rose" from the same ranks as the many people who are currently making the stories against her didn't help, either. With couple of really simple mishaps and the lack of the support of the SRF, she became the perfect target.

 

[lula]

Why is it 'thus logical'?

Prince William has been a Prince heartthrob in the Anglophile world and the same 'logical' hasn't happened to his missus,quite the opposite infact.

Because Prince William is the son of the late Lady Di, the victim of the paparazzi ... the Royal House and the British media have avoided a repeat of the story of Diana, constantly hounded by the paparazzi.

The case of Spain is very different. The prince, and especially his partners have always been exposed to the media, and the Royal House has never done anything to protect them. King Juan Carlos was protected by the press, and while such protection is maintained, has not cared. As has always protected blood members of the family, and has cared little that happen with the "in law", they are secondary.

Princess Letizia had the misfortune to come at a time when the gossip press was a million euro business with many power. She was the easy and weak target, because neither the king nor the royal house worried about protect and respect her... was more important than the press continue to silence other stories.

Queen Elizabeth learned from the mistakes and scandals, and things with Sophie and Catherine have been very different. King Juan Carlos, despite the scandals, seems stubbornly not change his attitude.

 

[Fürstin Taxis]

It´s so silly, she does her job without complaining, doesn´t talks to the press, smiles, but the littlest mistake, different facial expression is taken as big, big offence towards husband, country, family etc. etc. Lmao, you just sit there and can´t believe this.

 

[donnaK]

Why is it 'thus logical'?

Prince William has been a Prince heartthrob in the Anglophile world and the same 'logical' hasn't happened to his missus,quite the opposite infact.

There are plenty of nasty comments on Kate all over the message boards. Press is influenced by power, Kate has been much more protected by the British RF than Letizia ever was, even the scar on her head was being clarified by the RF. QEII has been well respected with exemplary behavior, her loyal supporters don't need to attack others to raise her profile, keep her on the throne.
I think at the beginning, JC and Zarzuela could have done something to protect Letizia and her family and he was powerful enough at that time (now it's a different story), but he didn't, perhaps he and his grey men felt threatened by the golden image of a young CP couple. Then came the corruption of Cristina and Inaki, the press speculated on the bad relation between sisters-in-law, it was better that the press blamed Letizia than his own daughter.

 

[donnaK]

If I recall correctly, Felipe did attend the lunch with Rajoy and the King, he didnt attend the lunch with Mrs Obama, only Letizia did with the Kings.

2013 was the first year Felipe had attended the lunch the Kings offered to the PM. I'm pretty sure it was the last minute change. Letizia left Marllorca because she told the head of Zarzuela she had an appointment in Madrid.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The Royal House has expressed dissatisfaction with the way some of its members are covered in the press. Javier Ayuso, Director of Communications of the King's House , has sent letters to various media in which it expressed its dissatisfaction with the attitude of the press. In the letter, Ayuso is dissatisfied by two specific events that have occurred between the media and the royal family in recent weeks . The first is the "pursue" made ​​on the Princess of Asturias by several photographers on a motorcycle through the streets of Madrid when she was in his car. The second was made ​​to photograph the children of the Dukes of Palma in Geneva , while playing in a park in the city without the company of their parents.
La carta con la que Casa Real intenta condicionar a los medios - Noticias de Casas Reales
Letizia vive una persecución 'de película' en pleno centro de Madrid - Noticias de Casas Reales

 

[blauerengel]

Good to know that the Royal House has sent letters to express their concern over some of the unfair media actions and tactics. Hopefully it will improve the situation a little bit! Freedom of the press is very important, but it should not be used in a way to make the life of public people a nightmare.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Its about time the Palace has issued this sort of statement,now whether it will fall on deaf ears is another story!

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Its about time the Palace has issued this sort of statement,now whether it will fall on deaf ears is another story!

These two cases are no-brainers. Its against the law to take pictures of children without consent of their parents, and even though the Palma children are public figures, they must not be photographed when they are 'private' = without the Palma parents or eg the Queen.

Car chasing paparazzi is a no-no since Diana, everybody knows. There are lots of other Royal Houses (eg the Norwegian) who would complain to the press about anything, the Spanish usually don't do this.

I have no idea where Letizia was coming from when in the beginning she rebuked Penafiel for something he had said about her and advised him to check with Zarzuela first whether it was true or not before writing it. It was probably beyond her believe what the tabloids would dig up and write in years to come, totally unchallanged by Zarzuela.

 

[lula]

Since the move to the United States, Zarzuela has asked the press to respect the law regarding children Urdangarín ... 4 years have passed and still the same.

I do not think this has much impact... but at least they are doing something. It may be a good time to start enforcing limits.

The gossip press is losing power, the economic crisis is affecting them much, and the business is no longer as lucrative as it was... the Royal Family and especially Letizia and the girls remain profitable for them.

 

[Noor Mariam]

In my opinion, the attacks towars Letizia is not only a subject of the press or tabloids. It is very clear that big part of people dont accept Letizia as princess of Asturias, this is really a big problem.

The fact is that Letizia was not a good choice of Prince Felipe. Not because she is not a royal, but because she comes from a different position, dont forget she has ideas coming from Left parties, not traditional at all ( she is republican, she is in favour of abortion, etc, etc) Moreover, she doesn't get on well with the Army wich is very hard when she is married to the futur boss of Spanish Army and one of her obligations is attending with Prince Felipe to military events. That was very clear in her attitude when she attendend military events in last times, wearing in a not appropiated way. The Spanish Army has complained several times about that After Summer, she didn't attend to military events, only to the Military parade for National Day.

Last year, Royal Spanish protocol changed in order Infanta Elena didnt have a role in official events of the royal family. Thanks God, this year protocol changed again in order she has a more important role again.

Letizia betrayed her ideas when she married Prince Felipe...9 years after that, it is very hard to hide her positions 24 hours a day....Monarchist and military people dont accept her but they are silent only for respect.

 

[lula]

Noor, you repeat opinions extended by the gossip press... really no one really knows how Letizia thinks. Probably and unfortunately for the most conservative, Letizia has opinions that shares most of Spanish society.

Probably if people would think better and more informed this would not happen. But spread topics is easy. The Spanish press is very vague, someone says something and others generally play without worrying about check.

Princess Letizia goes to the military events she must go... after the summer the only military event that she should go is the National Day. The queen and the princess did not attend most of the military events the king and the prince attend. Normally they only go to acts of State (Pascua Militar, Armed Forces Day, National Day), military graduations held in July and when they are godmothers flag.

Since the summer they are determined to criticize the work of Letizia as princess, when really, she is the woman of the royal family that has had more events this year.

On the flip side, praise Elena´s work and her new and active role ... when really she has less events than in previous years.

The list of lies and contradictions is very very long ...

 

[blauerengel]

Letizia was certainly not the conventional choice for a Crown Prince, but she has a lot of qualifications that are helping her to do a great job in her position. She is highly educated,articulate,compassionate,stylish and she clearly has a lot of love for her husband and children. Just because the press likes to write negative headlines does not mean that CP Letizia is not popular, you can see that in most places she is greeted with a warm welcome and some people even hand her over their babies so that she can touch them. She is very close to the people,gives hugs and leads a relatively simple life compared to the extravagant lifestyle and habits that other royals have.

Some of the negative aspects in her position are that she is not conservative and does not have such a deep connection with the Catholic church like a lot of Spanish people do. She does have strong Republican feelings, but so does CP Mary and many other modern royals. As a woman it is not such a problem that she does not do military service as it is still seen as a "man´s domain", it is sufficient when CP Felipe is active in the military. I am sure that there would be quite a lot of people who would complain if she decided to do a military course like CP Mary of Denmark or CP Victoria of Sweden, because it is not considered "ladylike" ;-)
Again, it is not so much what CP Letizia does, but how the press interprets her actions and they also know that a scandals sells much better than informative,nonpartisan,well-researched articles!

 

[Noor Mariam]

For example, we all can see photos of Royal kids very often..but not of the Spanish litle infantas. When Prince Felipe and INfantas Elena and Cristinas were kids, people saw then at school, at birthdays parties, the same we can see the other Royal kids nowadays...excpet the Spanish Infantas.

Letizia thinks her daughters are "normal" girls but they are part of the Royal Family. This year, we didnt see them on their first day of school. We have never seen them at their birthdays, never, event she doesnt want to give a photo of those occasions.

 

[blauerengel]

There are a lot of pictures of Leonor and Sofia at many occasions. Just because they are not photographed every day does not mean that CP Letizia does not fulfil her responsibilities, on the contrary I am convinced that it is good when parents protect their children from too much exposion to the press.
CP Victoria and the Duchess of Cambridge also protect their children from too much media intrusion, it is perfectly acceptable that royals wish their children to have a happy childhood.
The children are presented regularly at special occasions and the Royal Houses is publishing professional photographs from all the members of the Royal family on their homepage.

 

[Noor Mariam]

There are a lot of pictures of Leonor and Sofia at many occasions. Just because they are not photographed every day does not mean that CP Letizia does not fulfil her responsibilities, on the contrary I am convinced that it is good when parents protect their children from too much exposion to the press.
CP Victoria and the Duchess of Cambridge also protect their children from too much media intrusion, it is perfectly acceptable that royals wish their children to have a happy childhood.
The children are presented regularly at special occasions and the Royal Houses is publishing professional photographs from all the members of the Royal family on their homepage.

You can not compare....European Royal kids are very active and take part in lot of official events. We saw photos of them on the occasion of their birthdays, at school every year.

It is wrong to think that Leonor and Sofía are "normal girls", they are not the kids of one of our neighnours, they are princesses and we want only to see them more often. Even little Estelle of Sweden, who is a baby, take part in public events with their parents.

 

[lula]

The gossip press in Spain uses the "false morality", all is a scandal because that's their business... but the reality of society is very different, more in the new generations. And if the monarchy is to survive also have to adapt to social changes and respect them.

For example, the majority of Spanish people is Catholic... by tradition, by education ... but do not practice, they often do not go to church. Spain is one of the countries with greater acceptance of homosexuality, and there are more people in favor of abortion than against.

In general, the Spanish are practical monarchists , defend the monarchy because it is useful to the country and is a better choice than politicians... whether they think the republic is more just think that this monarchy is good for Spain.

Summing up for the Spanish average citizen, if really Letizia had those ideas, would be normal. Normally this is only a problem for people who are in ideological extremes.

 

[lula]

Noor, I think you should inform better and stop repeating the lies of the Spanish press.

First, the foreign press is much more respectful than Spanish.

Second, when the prince and his sisters were children, Spain only had a television, an official press agency and a few newspapers and magazines. A world very different from today's media with dozens of television, newspapers, magazines and digital media to be satisfied.

Only Belgian children are photographed each year on the first day of school. The other royal children only have been photographed on the first day of the first year in school. Infantas Leonor and Sofia have been photographed in school more than other royal children.

Dutch girls are photographed only in sessions organized by the Royal House, and the press can not publish any photos without permission.

The photos distributed by norwegian or danish for birthday, are photos published by the Royal House... and press accept them nicely. When in Spain they have done it, the photos have been criticized just because the press wants photo shoots, where everyone can have their exclusive photos and do business.

The infantas, especially Cristina, must be very remorseful of how exposed their children were in the past. Felipe Marichalar is a teenager who hates the press ... and the faces of his cousins ​​when they see a photographer are terible. The Royal House has spent several years trying to get the press respect the privacy of children ... without much success.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Summing up for the Spanish average citizen, if really Letizia had those ideas, would be normal. Normally this is only a problem for people who are in ideological extremes.

Yes, its only logical that she has such ideas. What is illogical is Letizia's judgement that she could possibly fit into the position she is holding within an institution of conservative and 'old fashioned' values. As far as I recall the title 'reyes catolicos' applies still today, why is it a surprise that people consider a woman in this position as a fake when its clear that her ideas or actions of the past were very different before marrying the prince. How can you be considered or consider yourself a credible representative of such an institution? It stands to reason that Letizia betrayed her ideas for a bigger aim, love, ambition, whatever it was and people sensed that from the beginning. No, Letizia is not popular, not remotely embraced by the public like some of her peers. But then, people were never crazy about the monarchy like in other countrys, but rather pragmatic.


Re the infantas, I understand their desire to protect them or give them a 'normal' childhood but the reality is very different. The time will come - with JC gone - the media light will be on the girls with full force. They will be future cash cows and pursued by the paparazzi as soon as they reach a certain age, their parents unable to protect them. I have the impression that other royal children consider the press as more 'normal' or appendant, but maybe I am wrong. Leonor and Sofia seem like paralyzed or remote controlled to me when they face the press, because they are not used to such a szenario as often as other royal children. The press will stay with them for the rest of their lives, being 'normal' as a kid = hidden away will make things more difficult in the future, when they can't escape the press anymore.

 

[Charlotte_Aster]

Why is the issue of the Infatas being discussed here? I thought this thread was called "Letizia and the Press". And last time I checked they had a mother AND a father. Besides, I don't think it's 100% upto the Princes to make such decisions.

 

[lula]

Duke, you always repeat the same and I say the same.

Today the monarchy in Spain is King Juan Carlos, and in a way he wanted to keep the institution anchored in the past because interest to maintain his privileges. His big mistake was not to see that society evolved and demanded other things, and so now there are many problems.

But Prince Felipe will have to answer to another Spain and other Spanish, they will not accept what is allowed to his father. And that's where Princess Letizia has her role.

Unfortunately seems King Juan Carlos has never been willing to change things if he has not been forced by pressure. And by not allowing progressive changes only compounded the future.

There is something very ironic, conservatives, old monarchists, the gossip press ... require Letizia being more royal than royal... what in Letizia is vulgar and plebeian ... in members of the Royal Family demonstrates simplicity and proximity. Members of the Royal Family can do many things without receiving any criticism, but if Letizia did the same criticism would be brutal. Many times the arguments are totally schizophrenic.

 

[Moonmaiden23]

Good to know that the Royal House has sent letters to express their concern over some of the unfair media actions and tactics. Hopefully it will improve the situation a little bit! Freedom of the press is very important, but it should not be used in a way to make the life of public people a nightmare.

Yes, exactly. That is when it becomes harassment.

 

[Maria Jacinta]

El libro del primo de Da. Letizia lo explica todo.

 

[Lee-Z]

El libro del primo de Da. Letizia lo explica todo.

Don't know spanish, but does this mean 'Letizia explains all'?

I bet she-s pretty surprised that one little not-drink has caused all this fuzz

 

[casualfan]

Yes, its only logical that she has such ideas. What is illogical is Letizia's judgement that she could possibly fit into the position she is holding within an institution of conservative and 'old fashioned' values. As far as I recall the title 'reyes catolicos' applies still today, why is it a surprise that people consider a woman in this position as a fake when its clear that her ideas or actions of the past were very different before marrying the prince. How can you be considered or consider yourself a credible representative of such an institution? It stands to reason that Letizia betrayed her ideas for a bigger aim, love, ambition, whatever it was and people sensed that from the beginning. No, Letizia is not popular, not remotely embraced by the public like some of her peers. But then, people were never crazy about the monarchy like in other countrys, but rather pragmatic. Re the infantas, I understand their desire to protect them or give them a 'normal' childhood but the reality is very different. The time will come - with JC gone - the media light will be on the girls with full force. They will be future cash cows and pursued by the paparazzi as soon as they reach a certain age, their parents unable to protect them. I have the impression that other royal children consider the press as more 'normal' or appendant, but maybe I am wrong. Leonor and Sofia seem like paralyzed or remote controlled to me when they face the press, because they are not used to such a szenario as often as other royal children. The press will stay with them for the rest of their lives, being 'normal' as a kid = hidden away will make things more difficult in the future, when they can't escape the press anymore.

It's so sad and embarrassing that people read so much into these things. First of all, Asa previous poster has stated, the title of 'Reyes católicos' does not exactly hold the monarch to the same parochial ideas as in generations past, given that Spain, as the rest of the world, has seen a sharp decline in the number of people that really hold true to catholic ideas and practices (the LA Times had an article in March that stated that only 1 in 5 Spanish Catholics reported going to church once a week).

Secondly, I think there are a lot of people who think the Infantas are wooden, remote or paralyzed. Didn't Leonor talk to photographers as she was leaving her grandfather's hospital after his last surgery? They smile, they hold hands with their parents, etc.

 

[casualfan]

El libro del primo de Da. Letizia lo explica todo.

She's referring to David Rocasolano's book about his cousin, Letizia.