Will Criticism of Princess Letizia Increase or Decrease when she becomes Queen?

[dazzling]

IMO Letizia used to get criticized alot when she first got married, now it seems to have decreased but that doesnt mean when she becomes a Queen it will stop, it could start all over again.
Letizia gave up to the press at one point when they cristicized her on wearing European designers, now all what she does is wear Spanish designers which I do agree but doing that after being criticized made the press win.
She will always be criticized whether it snow, 5 years or 10 years of being Queen, she'll never win IMO.

The one thing which I see her being highly criticized of when she is a Queen is the fact she doesnt hold enough solo engagements. I know a few stated that she might prefer to do them with Felipe but at some point its not about what she prefers but about her being a Queen and doing the job it requires. Because if its about what she prefers she might want to be a stay home mom but that wont work.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I guess people are pretty much sick of 'She was divorced', 'Her grandpa was a taxi driver' in about every criticism of this old man.

I don't think this has been much of a critizism issue with the Spanish public anyway, it was more a topic for the in-laws. Everybody knew especially Sofia wanted a royal bride in the first place so the expectations were high. Clearly Sofia wasn't pleased, not only because Letizia wasn't royal but also from an ordinary background, something that JC didn't like either. He always seemed fond of a socialite "higher daughter" with power and money in the background, eg Delphine Arnauld, and a foreigner, always preferred in royal houses instead of getting married to a local "subject".

dazzling
The one thing which I see her being highly criticized of when she is a Queen is the fact she doesnt hold enough solo engagements.

This will and will have to change, simply because at some point the SRF are running out of people. Unless JC and Sofia will sport a robust health or sense of duty similar to the British with a full working agenda into their mid-80ies or even 90ies, there is nobody around to do the vast number of events apart from F & L. Both Leonor and Sofia won't be doing full time duties within the next 20 - 25 years what means a hell of a workload for F & L, together and, even more likely, separate. It already a waste of resources now but that's a different topic.

 

[mrsbugman]

I have just started reading about the Spanish Royal family. I always got the impression that the King and Queen were happily married. And what happened in 1992.

 

[donnaK]

The one thing which I see her being highly criticized of when she is a Queen is the fact she doesnt hold enough solo engagements. I know a few stated that she might prefer to do them with Felipe but at some point its not about what she prefers but about her being a Queen and doing the job it requires. Because if its about what she prefers she might want to be a stay home mom but that wont work.

That's not true. The Spanish press rarely criticized her for not doing enough solo engagements, that's more from the internet forums. On the contrary, the conservatives (ex. Jaime Penafiel) actually claimed her dominating their work and writing all her hubby's speeches, another way to exaggerate things. Perhaps they do like working together, but she will certainly do whatever requires her for the Queen's job in the future. Right now, I think she (and Zarzuela) knows perfectly well that in order to have a future, Felipe has to do well, to be more visible (not as the cartoon said ). Unlike the job of the Head of State, 'waiting to be the Head of State' has no job description, if you don't tell people what you are doing, they wouldn't know. The Spaniards don't have the mentality of 'Let him enjoy life for now' as some citizens of other countries with monarchies (ex. Denmark). By working together did bring a lot of visibility to his work. When he becomes the King of Spain, he automatically becomes visible. I don't think the Spanairds know the details of the work done by the King, but they know he is the Head of State, not an idle man, does the job required for any Head of State.

 

[chuchu]

I would be interested to know what the Spanish members of the forum have to say.

 

[Maura724]

And what happened in 1992.

Yes, what was that a reference to?

 

[fandesacs2003]

I have just started reading about the Spanish Royal family. I always got the impression that the King and Queen were happily married. And what happened in 1992.

What is the 1992 incident?

 

[Opal]

He always seemed fond of a socialite "higher daughter" with power and money in the background, eg Delphine Arnauld, and a foreigner, always preferred in royal houses instead of getting married to a local "subject".

I always thought the King and also the Spanish preferred a local lady as their Princess to bring more Spanish blood into the family since Queen Sofia is foreign and even King Juan Carlos has a lot of British blood from his ancestry.
I don't understand why Letizia continues to do engagements with Felipe. I could see why she did at first so she could learn the ropes and so she wouldn't outshine Felipe. But it's been enough time now and Felipe is well established. They could get so much more done separately.

 

[lucien]

As to the initial question,who of you has a christal ball?
None I suppose.I think the respect and appreciation towards her will increase,no doubt in my mind on that.
She bloody well deserves it,she adapted to the Royal life spanish style flawlessly.

Critic's?Hah,there's always that and some have made it their life goal to critisise her all over time and time again.
Ignore.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I always thought the King and also the Spanish preferred a local lady as their Princess to bring more Spanish blood into the family since Queen Sofia is foreign and even King Juan Carlos has a lot of British blood from his ancestry.

In royal history it has always been fashionable not to marry a "subject", your own countryman or -woman, it was even frowned upon. Royals used to nenew their gene pools by marrying other nationals. Even these days "mixed" marriages are preferred in royal circles with lots of examples in the old and new generation. Same nationality is almost an exception. A foreigner has the advantage to have a fresh start in a new country without a past as normal citizen but at the same time it can be a disadvantage too, being a "foreigner" (see Queen Sofia, nicknamed "The Greek"), who is likely to speak the language only with accent and might struggle with mentalities or habits.

 

[Opal]

In royal history it has always been fashionable not to marry a "subject", your own countryman or -woman, it was even frowned upon. Royals used to nenew their gene pools by marrying other nationals. Even these days "mixed" marriages are preferred in royal circles with lots of examples in the old and new generation. Same nationality is almost an exception. A foreigner has the advantage to have a fresh start in a new country without a past as normal citizen but at the same time it can be a disadvantage too, being a "foreigner" (see Queen Sofia, nicknamed "The Greek"), who is likely to speak the language only with accent and might struggle with mentalities or habits.

Yes this is what I mean, the fact she had this nickname. Over time the Spanish have embraced Queen Sofia (especially because she was already royal) but the fact that she had this nickname... And I remember reading that even Juan Carlos was chided a bit for being "too British". In most countries I think they're accepting of outsiders but I think the Spanish are not this way as much. That's my impression.

 

[Little_star]

Persoanlly I find a lot of the criticism of the Spanish gutter press really petty and it seems to harbour long-standing resentment on the part of some of the journalists.

 

[MaximaRocks]

Anyone in the media spotlight (how ever low or high profile) is criticized regardless. Particularly now with the internet. The smallest thing is magnified and blown out of proporation and editorialized to death.

Letizia strikes me as a pro--in whatever she does. She has weathered the initial years of being in the royal fold. I think she could actually blossom as queen. I have a feeling with age an experience, she will surpass many's expectations.

 

[IRIS1983]

I think that Letizia has a good teacher for learn to be Queen, and I think that with a teacher as Queen Sofia, she will be a good Queen because her teacher is it ,A GOOD QUEEN.

 

[moby]

I think the criticism will decrease. She works hard, like other women who married into royalty but at the same time, she isn't trying hard to please everybody, unlike other Crown Princesses. I think the initial criticism was because she was already in the public eye before marriage and as such had little mystery to her. People are able to form their own images and ideas about Mary and Maxima, for example but they couldn't do that to Letizia because people already knew about her background and the life she led before Felipe.

 

[Magrat]

I don't think the criticism will increase or decrease, it will just become louder. And if she plays her part well, she will silence them. Some people just can't do right, and apparently Letizia will be one of them.

 

[jjkg]

Palace Mandarins and Letizia

I was surfing the net last night reading up on the ascension of King Juan Carlos to throne of Spain. The intrigues, marriage of Infante Alfonso with Franco's grand-daughter and efforts of Alfonso to gain the throne etc., have made me appreciate the King and Queen of Spain even more. They were very young couple (in their 20s) and how they alone navigated the minefield is downright impressive.

Anyway, reading all this background brought 3 things to the fore-front for me -
1. The highly conservative and powerful nature of people behind the throne
2. The efforts of Juan and Sofia to reestablish monarchy, even at the cost of King's relationship with his father who should have been the King.
3. How opponents manipulate press to play behind the scenes games that we the public are not even aware of.

Press
I have now a visceral feel for the straight jacket that Letizia was placed in, and how much her situation is so different than that of other royal families. I see the charges against Leti in the new book with a whole different set of eyes -eyes of political opponents of the crown -to send a message to the royal family. Juan Carlos was sent a similar message when an article on Point de Vue in late 60s which had an incendiary quote from Juan Carlos - a quote that was never given. The article was just meant to be a photo spread of Juan and his young family. But the enemies (his own father's confidants who wanted the father to be the king, and those who wanted Infante Alfonso) manipulated the reporter to say that Juan Carlos said that he would never differ with his father's quest to regain the throne. Franco's supporters went into conniptions and a lot of damage control had to be done by Juan Carlos for something that had never been said.
I now understand why Felipe and Letizia have never given an interview.


Visits to factories and such
I also gained new appreciation for the routine visits the royal couple make to factory openings etc. Most of our interest is in clothes that Letizia wears. But from reading I gathered how critically important these are to Felipe and Letizia in building alliances for their succession to the throne. I can imagine the preparation that goes into these seemingly casual visits and the work involved in gaining the trust of people there. Felipe and Letizia cannot afford to just be a good looking couple. They have to be on their mark, working the crowd all the time.
I read that Juan Carlos had to fight tooth and nail with some of the old guard to conduct these visits, while Infante Alfonso was given the red carpet treatment. One such incident I read was that Juan badly wanted to visit a new port opening(or a factory in a port area) and how he was thwarted in his efforts.


Palace Mandarins
Can the Spaniards here shed more light into current palace mandarins?

I get the impression that they are highly conservative and rigid lot. I am really impressed how Letizia has so overwhelmingly changed her persona from a go-getter, up & coming journalist to that of a silent wife supporting her husband. I can just picture these mandarins having a "mold Letizia" project.

This leads to the recent angst on this board and several others about the way Leti is dressing recently. I'll admit that the length of skirts and her general fashion sense in recent years have left me scratching my head. Part of me thinks that if it was bad, these hawkish mandarins must have said something to Leti. If not these mandarins, then Felipe, Sofia or any of her aristocratic friends could have been asked by the mandarins to tell Leti that her dresses are a bit unseemly. I mean these guys seem to be more monarchists than may be the monarch himself. The other thought is that her fashion may be a conscious attempt (though perhaps inept) to project the image of young, vibrant couple to attract the middle-class youth constituency/

Same goes for the Cristina/Letizia stories. Afterall,the offense that Leti seems to have committed (not letting Cristina's in-laws stay at her house) is not worth giving anti-monarchists yet another weapon to clobber Leti and Felipe. It is a trivial thing in the big scheme of things! Why did they take so long to put this fire out?

Perhaps the mandarins in the Prince's household are not really the aggressive kind...and the mandarins at Kings household are too old and have lost touch, fragmented, letting their own egos play Cristina versus Leti etc

Feel free to shed some light here...and forgive me if I made mistakes in my understanding of Spanish past.

 

[lula]

The Spain of then is not the Spain of now, the country has changed very much. Always there will be sectors that they criticize, for example, the ultraconservative that lost their power with Franco always they will accuse partly to the Monarchy because of it.

But the House of the King has evolved very much, probably it is more a problem of the age of the King and the education that received. When the King began his reign, military men were managing the House, now diplomatics make it. And they are not excessively serious persons and conservatives, they see the things of another form and act in consequence.

Always I have thought that there is a map of work, and that though sometimes some people do not understand it, more in these forums where monarchies are compared with others ... eventually they know that they must pass the problems to reach a more important aim. Sometimes they have mistakes, but I believe that in general they know which is the country at which they worked.

The Princess had to acquire resposabilidades little by little, if making it like that she has not escaped to the critiques, imagine what had happened if from the first day she had had many responsibilities. And it is not because she is a woman, not for whom she is ... it is simply because she is the new one, the foreign one to the family, and for the people she has to learn and to gain it. Marichalar and Urdangarín always were the shade of their wives, they never have had an own responsibility in the Royal Family.

The people or yellow press can speak about the clothes of the Princess ... but ultimately the important thing is what she does. The clothes of Mango, the most short skirt .... they do not bother the people in general.