The Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía, News Part 1: June 2014 -


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Both girls were lovely, clean and polished. Well done, and they are just kids / early teens.
On the other side, what is deeply shocking me is that 2 young girls, had to bear alone the whole SRF representation. I would expect the King to at least deliver a message, the Queen to actively support medical efforts, even remotely, but nothing. QEII at 94 years delivered a unique message, similar to war Era and touched her whole country. But the Spanish RF, nothing. King and Queen vanished completely, and let the whole communication responsibility to 2 young girls. Well done girls, you were excellent.
The king and queen are in touch with many organizations all the time (providing pictures of video conferences almost daily). So, I don't agree that they don't offer support.
 
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Both girls were lovely, clean and polished. Well done, and they are just kids / early teens.
On the other side, what is deeply shocking me is that 2 young girls, had to bear alone the whole SRF representation. I would expect the King to at least deliver a message, the Queen to actively support medical efforts, even remotely, but nothing. QEII at 94 years delivered a unique message, similar to war Era and touched her whole country. But the Spanish RF, nothing. King and Queen vanished completely, and let the whole communication responsibility to 2 young girls. Well done girls, you were excellent.

What do you mean, King and Queen vanished completely?
I dare to say: from all European monarchies especially Don Felipe and Doña Letizia have been so extremely active. Day after day we have seen them videocalling. We have seen them making visits to support services working so hard in this pandemic. I can not believe you claim the King and Queen vanished completely!

Already on March 19th the King addressed the nation. Really, where does your idea come from the King gave no speech????

https://www.plataformamedia.com/en-...r-unity-in-fighting-coronavirus-11952563.html

:ohmy: :ohmy: :ohmy:
 
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Both girls were lovely, clean and polished. Well done, and they are just kids / early teens.
On the other side, what is deeply shocking me is that 2 young girls, had to bear alone the whole SRF representation. I would expect the King to at least deliver a message, the Queen to actively support medical efforts, even remotely, but nothing. QEII at 94 years delivered a unique message, similar to war Era and touched her whole country. But the Spanish RF, nothing. King and Queen vanished completely, and let the whole communication responsibility to 2 young girls. Well done girls, you were excellent.

If they are vanished, I don't know where some royals are ... :eek:

Every day the king and queen hold conversations with government representatives, hospital managers from all over Spain, representatives of the country's economic and business sectors, with a multitude of social organizations (elderly, young, education, aid to the sick, social minorities, royal patronages).

King Felipe has visited the temporary hospital created for COVID in Madrid, he has visited the police and military who have been on the streets performing security tasks, helping hospitals, disinfecting nursing homes, transferring the deceased ... today king Felipe and Queen Letizia have gone to the 112 Emergency Service in Madrid. On all those occasions they have sent messages to all those groups that are working for others, and have conveyed their condolences for the deceased.

And all this when Queen Letizia has had to keep strict quarantine for 15 days for being in contact with a positive, and they live in Madrid, one of the cities in the world where the impact of COVID has been harder and the confinement laws are stricter. .
 
Which is not a judgement based on personal preferences at all :lol::lol::lol::lol:

: flores:: flores:: flores:: flores:

I think at some point it will become easier for Leonor and more difficult for Sofia, Leonor has her defined role, groomed by (from a monarchists' view) the perfect father and the perfect grandmother with their character traits calm and dutiful, I doubt she will be attacked relentlessly like her mother.
Sofia is a different matter, she her path will lead her from royal life to private life while having to find a proper job. She'll have to deal with the spare's life being torn between two worlds.

In principle, the life of the Infanta Sofia should be much easier for her than for the future queen.
She will have the freedom, in theory, to choose her future. But there is a problem: they are only two sisters and if Sofia makes a good marriage that allows her (if she wishes) to continue representing the crown, Leonor will surely keep her by her side. There are many years left for Leonor to marry, have children, those children grow up and Sofia can separate herself, if she so wishes, from the crown.
We could find that Sofia never separates from the crown (like so many infantas before her). Each different circumstance is what history writes.
If she does not wants to work for the crown, she will be free to choose her life, her husband and she will be much happier. In any case Sofia will be much freer and has the same support among the Spanish as Leonor.
 
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In principle, the life of the Infanta Sofia should be much easier for her than for the future queen.
She will have the freedom, in theory, to choose her future. But there is a problem: they are only two sisters and if Sofia makes a good marriage that allows her (if she wishes) to continue representing the crown, Leonor will surely keep her by her side. There are many years left for Leonor to marry, have children, those children grow up and Sofia can separate herself, if she so wishes, from the crown.
We could find that Sofia never separates from the crown (like so many infantas before her). Each different circumstance is what history writes.
If she does not wants to work for the crown, she will be free to choose her life, her husband and she will be much happier. In any case Sofia will be much freer and has the same support among the Spanish as Leonor.

But in "modern Spain" the Infantas loose their royal position as the focus is entirely on the King, Queen and their children. Seen Doña Pilar, see Doña Margarita, see Doña Elena, see Doña Cristina. As sisters of the King they ceased to be members of the Casa Real. When Doña Leonor is Queen, her sister Doña Sofía will cease to be a member of the Casa Real.
 
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But in "modern Spain" the Infantas loose their royal position as the focus is entirely on the King, Queen and their children. Seen Doña Pilar, see Doña Margarita, see Doña Elena, see Doña Cristina. As sisters of the King they ceased to be members of the Casa Real. When Doña Leonor is Queen, her sister Doña Sofía will cease to be a member of the Casa Real.


Exactly, and Sofia can be very young or middle aged when it happens, nobody knows, so with bad luck Leonor will be on her own when she needs support. While Leonor seems to have inherited Felipe's character traits, Sofia comes across more lively or 'naughty', she will have the tabloid press on her back for the rest of her life and will possibly give them a run for their money.
 
I agree, that not knowing when you will be 'thrown out' will make it rather hard for Sofía to find her way in life. As long as her father is king she is supposed to be at his disposal but the moment her sister ascends to the throne (and as Duke of Marmalade pointed out that moment can be either soon or may be decades away), she is kicked out.

So, what is she supposed to do with her life?!
 
It might not be like that. King Felipe VI has decided that members of his family who belong to the royal house, especially his daughters, will not be able to have their own businesses and will not be able to work for other companies. Sofia, in principle, will have to work for the Royal House.
I believe Sofia will dedicate much of her life to Spain.
Everything can change if Sofia marries a member of another Royal House, for example, or if she wants to disconnect from the royal house (as Harry did).
The King has made this decision to protect the monarchy because of what happened to Infanta Cristina.
I will try to find an article on this subject.

Edited.
Here is an article on this subject:
https://www.rtve.es/noticias/201407...sde-2015-aprobar-codigo-conducta/982941.shtml
 
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It might not be like that. King Felipe VI has decided that members of his family who belong to the royal house, especially his daughters, will not be able to have their own businesses and will not be able to work for other companies. Sofia, in principle, will have to work for the Royal House.
I believe Sofia will dedicate much of her life to Spain.
Everything can change if Sofia marries a member of another Royal House, for example, or if she wants to disconnect from the royal house (as Harry did).
The King has made this decision to protect the monarchy because of what happened to Infanta Cristina.
I will try to find an article on this subject.

Edited.
Here is an article on this subject:
https://www.rtve.es/noticias/201407...sde-2015-aprobar-codigo-conducta/982941.shtml


It does not make any sense, Sofia can only dedicate her life to Spain as long as she is a member of the RF. When she becomes a member of the Queen's family, she has to be able to earn her living, in between very young or middle aged. Therefore I believe she has to have an education to be qualified to hold a job that will pay her bills later in life.

Of course she could marry a royal or a billionaire, no problem.

But she - and her future husband - will be under enormous scrutiny not to benefit from the royal status. The poor guy will have to earn enough money to give his princess wife a decent lifestyle without the slightest hint of nepotism - something that Inaki did not manage and even Jaime was given a job by royal house connections. So, while Felipe's measures may be transparent, they don't make the life of Infanta Sofia any easier.
 
It might not be like that. King Felipe VI has decided that members of his family who belong to the royal house, especially his daughters, will not be able to have their own businesses and will not be able to work for other companies. Sofia, in principle, will have to work for the Royal House.
I believe Sofia will dedicate much of her life to Spain.
Everything can change if Sofia marries a member of another Royal House, for example, or if she wants to disconnect from the royal house (as Harry did).
The King has made this decision to protect the monarchy because of what happened to Infanta Cristina.
I will try to find an article on this subject.

Edited.
Here is an article on this subject:
https://www.rtve.es/noticias/201407...sde-2015-aprobar-codigo-conducta/982941.shtml

I am not sure how this contradicts what we said. This is exactly the issue. Sofía is expected to work for the crown as long as she is a member of the royal house, which is, as long as her father is king. When he is no longer king, she won't be member of the royal house (i.e., she will be 'kicked out') and needs to find something else to do with her life.

It does not make any sense, Sofia can only dedicate her life to Spain as long as she is a member of the RF. When she becomes a member of the Queen's family, she has to be able to earn her living, in between very young or middle aged. Therefore I believe she has to have an education to be qualified to hold a job that will pay her bills later in life.

Of course she could marry a royal or a billionaire, no problem.

But she - and her future husband - will be under enormous scrutiny not to benefit from the royal status. The poor guy will have to earn enough money to give his princess wife a decent lifestyle without the slightest hint of nepotism - something that Inaki did not manage and even Jaime was given a job by royal house connections. So, while Felipe's measures may be transparent, they don't make the life of Infanta Sofia any easier.

Exactly, the rules only apply to members of the 'Casa Real'. Sofía won't be a member of the 'Casa Real' her whole life but only as long as her father is king and her sister is 'princess of Asturias'. Once her sister becomes queen, she will be demoted from member of the 'Casa Real' to member of the 'Familia de la Reina'. At that point she is no longer expected to take on royal duties and hopefully will still do something meaningful with her life. So, she needs to prepare for a dual career: for the moment a 'royal one' and for the long term a 'non-royal one'.

I hope they will allow her to develop some 'outside' career from the start that is compatible with taking on royal duties, so it won't be a hard landing once she no longer is 'needed'.
 
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Obviously she will have a university career and can even study abroad.
We don't know if the King has decided that Sofia can belong the whole life of the Royal House. Felipe may have changed those rules too.
What is certain is that Sofia will have her life and very limited choices.
We're talking about something that's only going to happen in the long run. Leonor may not get married, or she may not have children, and then Sofia would play a more important role.
Felipe or later Leonor may decide that Sofia will continue to belong to the Royal House.
 
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Felipe vI and Queen Letizia have worked tirelessly; That has only been done by them, no other king. The royal house has a special communication policy regarding its princesses. But when Leonor and Sofia appear, it has to be with an important message, with a deep and powerful message. It is not enough to go out one day to applaud. Leonor and Sofia do something much more important: they speak to the nation. And really, they are the best. No other prince or princess has the level to do that. Leonor and Sofia yes. But what I don't understand is that two girls are criticized, from my point of view absurd criticism, and as if they were adults. They are girls and they do it perfectly. They are adorable and you will find very few people in Spain who do not find them beautiful, intelligent and divine. Two angels with a precious message. Others just applaud. They get involved. Leonor will be a very well prepared queen and Sofia will be a fundamental support. Spain loves its two princesses: Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia

Exactly. I don't know what people expect from two girls who are both under 15 - and, on top of that, as you have pointed out, the Spanish RF have always been much more serious and reserved than the rest of Europe's royal families (they are probably more on a par with the British RF in terms of their serious characteristics), the rest of whom are mostly pretty casual and relaxed.
 
Obviously she will have a university career and can even study abroad.
We don't know if the King has decided that Sofia can belong the whole life of the Royal House. Felipe may have changed those rules too.
What is certain is that Sofia will have her life and very limited choices.
We're talking about something that's only going to happen in the long run. Leonor may not get married, or she may not have children, and then Sofia would play a more important role.
Felipe or later Leonor may decide that Sofia will continue to belong to the Royal House.
Well, I would hope that Felipe is does not give his daughters preferential treatment over his sisters. From the start of his reign, he is presenting himself as impartial and with very high ethics standards. Changing the rules for his own daughter would show that he does NOT apply them when it pleases him. I don't believe he is that inconsistent.

And unfortunately, history makes it clear that we do not know when the time may come. All of us hope that the time that Leonor is taking over is a long time from now but that isn't guaranteed. He can be taken ill (a real possibility these days I'm afraid) or have an accident (as the crown prince of Bulgaria had) and things would look quite differently suddenly.
 
Yes it's true things can change quickly.
We also don't know what choices Sofia will make for her life.
But I believe she will for a few years work for the royal house, at least until her sister is Queen.
We must not forget that Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom or the sisters of Princess Beatrix and the sisters of the King of Sweden, as I know, never had a job. Sofia can have a life just like these princesses did. Sofia can support your sister and dedicate yourself to the royal house and support charitable causes.
She can hardly have a job like her aunts did.
And King Juan Carlos' sisters, for example, never had a job.
 
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Lovely video. Both girls are beautiful, but I am in love with Sofía.
 
Yes it's true things can change quickly.
We also don't know what choices Sofia will make for her life.
But I believe she will for a few years work for the royal house, at least until her sister is Queen.
We must not forget that Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom or the sisters of Princess Beatrix and the sisters of the King of Sweden, as I know, never had a job. Sofia can have a life just like these princesses did. Sofia can support your sister and dedicate yourself to the royal house and support charitable causes.
She can hardly have a job like her aunts did.
And King Juan Carlos' sisters, for example, never had a job.

At this time and place, this would never go down with the public. The SRF has their own case of the old royal world, the Queen's sister, Princess Irene, has lived in Spain for decades and nobody ever raised the question who pays for her upkeeping? Does she pay rent? Zarzuela is no private property. Nobody really knows and nobody will really care because this is the old world and Juan Carlos has other problems on his doorstep that are much more interesting.

Sofia will have to earn her living, either doing events for the royal house or with a regular job that has to be squeaky clean with regard to nepotism. It has to pay well but she has to be qualified to hold it. Or she marries a royal or a billionaire, good for her.
We must not forget that all of Felipe's sisters and brothers in law have held or still hold jobs that they would never hold without Juan Carlos' blessing. Both sisters make a lot more money on their jobs than their qualifications would suggest, and I won't even get started on their husbands and their jobs at the time.
 
Yes it's true things can change quickly.
We also don't know what choices Sofia will make for her life.
But I believe she will for a few years work for the royal house, at least until her sister is Queen.
We must not forget that Princess Benedikte of Denmark, Princess Margaret of the United Kingdom or the sisters of Princess Beatrix and the sisters of the King of Sweden, as I know, never had a job. Sofia can have a life just like these princesses did. Sofia can support your sister and dedicate yourself to the royal house and support charitable causes.
She can hardly have a job like her aunts did.
And King Juan Carlos' sisters, for example, never had a job.

Princess Christina worked as the Chairman of the Swedish Red Cross for nine year and got a salary at least on the three last years.
"Christina Magnusson received no severance pay from the Red Cross when she quit as chairperson in 2002. However, as chairperson she received fees during her last three years as chairperson for a total of SEK 1,738,463."
Prinsessan blev miljonär på sin tid i Röda Korset _ Staffan Heimerson _ Kolumnister _ Nyheter _ Aftonbladet
But it is not so long ago that it was a purely voluntary work to be chairman of the Red Cross. It was during Princess Christina Magnusson's time in the 1990s that a salary was introduced.
De vinner på välgörenheten - Fokus
 
I agree that I have a personal preference (which surely shines through). But I'm not making claims that the royal family of country X is doing better in all ways than all other countries.

I have for example no clue which monarch works hardest. It seems they all work hard (probably the younger generation doing a bit more than the older generation - but they have the advantage of having adult heirs) and try to do the best they can with the limitations they have based on their countries policies.

Ergh, I guess I will greatly disagree. And this is not esentially directed at you but, what are we doing here but being lectured at literally several better ways to handle royal kiss and teens approach to this situation than the one the SRF has chosen? To point out that behaviour from one member when that is literally our everyday routine is kind of funny and one-sided.

I will agree, however, that making such comparisond come in especially bad taste (even more than the usual bad taste I've come to expect, I say) due to the current COVID drama, but then again that's what my very first message was all about. So glad we've come full-circle now.
 
At this time and place, this would never go down with the public. The SRF has their own case of the old royal world, the Queen's sister, Princess Irene, has lived in Spain for decades and nobody ever raised the question who pays for her upkeeping? Does she pay rent? Zarzuela is no private property. Nobody really knows and nobody will really care because this is the old world and Juan Carlos has other problems on his doorstep that are much more interesting.

Sofia will have to earn her living, either doing events for the royal house or with a regular job that has to be squeaky clean with regard to nepotism. It has to pay well but she has to be qualified to hold it. Or she marries a royal or a billionaire, good for her.
We must not forget that all of Felipe's sisters and brothers in law have held or still hold jobs that they would never hold without Juan Carlos' blessing. Both sisters make a lot more money on their jobs than their qualifications would suggest, and I won't even get started on their husbands and their jobs at the time.

No, no one's ever asked anything about Princess Irene living in Zarzuela. She, from what is known, has her savings and has security paid for by the Royal House.
 
Ergh, I guess I will greatly disagree. And this is not esentially directed at you but, what are we doing here but being lectured at literally several better ways to handle royal kiss and teens approach to this situation than the one the SRF has chosen? To point out that behaviour from one member when that is literally our everyday routine is kind of funny and one-sided.

I will agree, however, that making such comparisond come in especially bad taste (even more than the usual bad taste I've come to expect, I say) due to the current COVID drama, but then again that's what my very first message was all about. So glad we've come full-circle now.

The only reason I pointed it out was because the Spanish royals were claimed to be the best in how they handled the Corona crisis compared to their colleagues based on assumptions on 'how hard they work' which greatly diminishes all the work done by the other royal houses in this crisis. Had it only been about 'I like how the princesses give a short speech; it would be nice if other royal families would do that as well', I would not have made that comment.

But let me leave at at that; I hope I've been able to clarify the reasoning behind my original comment :flowers:

In general, it is nice to see how the younger generation of the various royal families is included to support their country in this time of need.
 
I can presume it's safe to say Leonor isn't the pupil in question. I hope the pupil who does have Coronavirus recovers quickly!
 
But in "modern Spain" the Infantas loose their royal position as the focus is entirely on the King, Queen and their children. Seen Doña Pilar, see Doña Margarita, see Doña Elena, see Doña Cristina. As sisters of the King they ceased to be members of the Casa Real. When Doña Leonor is Queen, her sister Doña Sofía will cease to be a member of the Casa Real.

That is what has happened so far, but things change very quickly and each king works in a different way. If Leonor needs Sofía, she will not push her away and will always have a job by her side, for the crown.
I suppose you know what a "infante de Gracia" is, which is usually named for kinship, gratitude, or need for help. Having an infanta already, and such a small family, I particularly believe that Sofia will always be linked to the crown unless she married someone who made her leave the Crown or that she herself married another future king ( there's not much chance of that happening as there is only one future king his age).
 
Does she have to quarantine in any case. Also if a test of her will be negative?


Yes, she and all the students in her class must remain in quarantine for 15 days
And it is logical because the period of manifestation of the virus can take up to 10-14 days to manifest

That is what has happened so far, but things change very quickly and each king works in a different way. If Leonor needs Sofía, she will not push her away and will always have a job by her side, for the crown.
I suppose you know what a "infante de Gracia" is, which is usually named for kinship, gratitude, or need for help. Having an infanta already, and such a small family, I particularly believe that Sofia will always be linked to the crown unless she married someone who made her leave the Crown or that she herself married another future king ( there's not much chance of that happening as there is only one future king his age).

At that specific moment in life, in history, the Infantas Margarita and Pilar had no opportunity since they made morganatic marriages, which will not happen after the approval of the 1978 Constitution.
They could never have continued to be part of the royal family, but they have attended events on behalf of the Royal Household and surely the king emeritus paid them for their work.
 
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Just curious was there an option to home school children in Spain?

I don't know how many children are in the girl's classroom or how often they are tested but if this keeps happening the whole academic year could be thrown off.
What a headache this coronavirus has turned out to be!
 
Just curious was there an option to home school children in Spain?

I don't know how many children are in the girl's classroom or how often they are tested but if this keeps happening the whole academic year could be thrown off.
What a headache this coronavirus has turned out to be!

Before April children in Spain weren't allowed to leave their homes at all, so homeschooling was a must. Even when they were allowed to go outside again in April, schools were still shut and I presume they remained shut until this month.
 
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If Leonor needs Sofía, she will not push her away and will always have a job by her side, for the crown.
There's also a slight possibility of Leonor not being married, or being married without children, which makes Sofia the heiress and that would surely mean "being close to the crown".
 
There's also a slight possibility of Leonor not being married, or being married without children, which makes Sofia the heiress and that would surely mean "being close to the crown".


But that is evident to all royal families in the world. If George does not marry, or refuses to be a member of the royal family, he will be his future queen sister. If Amalia of Holland does not marry, Alexia will be queen ... If Estelle of Sweden does not marry or does not want to be queen, Oscar will be king. I do not understand what your reflection contributes in the Spanish case. In all royal families it is the same, but in no other do we doubt that the firstborn are heirs.
 
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