Marie-Chantal's relationship with her Royal In-Laws

[kcc]

who does the crown princess get on best with,amongst her husbands family. princess alexia(lovely)for ex.or the spanish infantas.

 

[kcc]

i didn't mean for it to sound like a competition,just meant who(if any)does she spend time with. almost forgot to add qeen anne-marie.

 

[Alexandria]

There have been pictures on several occasions of Marie Chantal and Elena of Spain together with their husbands. Once, many moons ago (before either princesses had children) they were with their husbands on holiday in Paris and attended a Lagerfeld fashion show together.

Marie Chantal and Alexia seem too many moons apart to be that close. Alexia seems to be more down to earth and sporty, while Marie Chantal seems very into the social, jet set scene.

 

[Lady Jean]

I agree Alexandria - that Alexia seems more down-to-earth than MC. Funny, since she is the one who grew up royal!

 

[Lia]

MC seems close to her Mother-in-law, Queen Anna-Maria. They have been seen many times going places together. On the other hand i don't think she is close with her husbands simblings or other relatives. I would say their relations are typical!!

 

[samitude]

I think Marie-Chantal and Theodora would be closer if there wasn't such a large age difference. On the other hand I don't think Marie-Chantal and Alexia are close at all, but that's ok. They have entirely different personalities from what I can tell. From photos I have seen it appears that Alexia and Cristina (her cousin) are close and Marie-Chantal would be close to Elena. Just like I can imagine Letizia and Marie-Chantal becoming friends. They seem like they would get along good. They both seem to have the same kind of personality and style. Although I would say Letizia seems a little bit more outspoken then Marie-Chantal, but that could be from her days as a news anchor where she had to be outspoken. That was her job.

 

[Fireweaver]

Is Elena as into fashion as MC?

 

[Alisa]

Very much so.

 

[Rosmerta]

How close is M-C to Mary??

 

[wittykitty]

Hi guys, finally have something to post, :flower: I wondered about MC being chummy ( or not) with her in laws I think that since she is the "financial provider" in the family and not their son they are as close as they possibly can be but it centers on the grandchildren . I have found very little information about Queen Ann Marie she was so young when she married and had the 3 babies so soon and being exiled . What kind of hobbies or common intrests would she share with MC ? I would be surprised that she's friendly with Alexia she seems like a very low maintance person and now that she lives in the Canary Islands . Theodora is at univeristy in the states and I don't have a clue as to what small talk she can make with Nik and his little brother , fashion and weather can only be so long .
Wittkitty

 

[wymanda]

Originally posted by paloma@May 26th, 2004 - 8:59 pm
According to their interview before Mary and Freds wedding, they had only met Mary once.(on a weekend get together)

I can't see a down to earth girl like Mary having much in common with a spoilt daughter of a multi millionaire who purchased husbands with titles for his daughters. M-C seems very shallow to me.

 

[tiaraprin]

Elena is as much into fashion as Marie-Chantal?? Everytime I see Elena, she looks downright frumpy--especially at Felipe's wedding with the mantilla and that awful dress she wore. I felt bad for the family member who sat behind Elena, they weren't gonna see anything over the top of that mantilla, I think it was taller than Queen Sofia's!!

 

[mgrant]

Ladies, I love your discussion. Keep it comin"!

 

[USCtrojan]

I too don't see Mary and MC becoming close... not at all..

 

[Genevieve]

Elena is as much into fashion as Marie-Chantal?? Everytime I see Elena, she looks downright frumpy--especially at Felipe's wedding with the mantilla and that awful dress she wore. I felt bad for the family member who sat behind Elena, they weren't gonna see anything over the top of that mantilla, I think it was taller than Queen Sofia's!!

I think Elena and Marie-Chantal have two very different styles. Marie-Chantal's style is a bit more urban I think, perhaps becauase she lived in New York City for so long.

Marie-Chantal prefers haute couture by the likes of Valentino.

Elena I think dresses in a much distinctly Spanish style. She is said to be a very traditional Spanish woman and hence prefers the mantillas (something not to be made fun of as it is part of Spanish culture and to be respected) and more ornate clothing (such as the pink suit she wore to Felipe's wedding).

I think both women are stylish but in their own different ways.

 

[Ennyllorac]

I think Marie-Chantal and Theodora would be closer if there wasn't such a large age difference. On the other hand I don't think Marie-Chantal and Alexia are close at all, but that's ok. They have entirely different personalities from what I can tell. From photos I have seen it appears that Alexia and Cristina (her cousin) are close and Marie-Chantal would be close to Elena. Just like I can imagine Letizia and Marie-Chantal becoming friends. They seem like they would get along good. They both seem to have the same kind of personality and style. Although I would say Letizia seems a little bit more outspoken then Marie-Chantal, but that could be from her days as a news anchor where she had to be outspoken. That was her job.

I don't know if Letizia and Marie-Chantal would get along. From pictures and from what I have read it seems that Letizia gets on quite well with Cristina. However, Elena is another story. I have yet to notice a picture in which Elena is having a pleasant conversation with Letizia and I have seen some of Cristina and her.

 

[Genevieve]

I don't know if Letizia and Marie-Chantal would get along. From pictures and from what I have read it seems that Letizia gets on quite well with Cristina. However, Elena is another story. I have yet to notice a picture in which Elena is having a pleasant conversation with Letizia and I have seen some of Cristina and her.

I think that Elena is a bit of a 'tougher nut to crack' than Cristina. Cristina seems much more easy going and friendlier than her older sister.

And if the stories about Elena opposing the Felipe/Letizia engagement while Cristina supported her brother are true, then I guess that is another reason for there rarely being pictures of Elena and Letizia being amiable with each other. I don't know how influenced Elena is by her husband, but I don't think he cares for Letizia very much and that might influence Elena, too. At the 25 anniversary of the Spanish Constitution there were pictures of Inaki, Jaime and Letizia sitting off to the side while the royal family sat up front. Letizia sat in the middle between Inaki and Jaime. During the ceremony Inaki and Letizia were repeatedly shown to be chatting while Jaime stared straight ahead and never once looked at Letizia.

Back to Letizia and Marie-Chantal getting along well, I don't really see that happening. They seem to be two very different women. Not in the way that Marie-Chantal and Alexia are, but different in that Letizia seems to be very driven in a professional manner and someone who pushes herself incessantly. Marie-Chantal seems to be someone who doesn't push herself too hard even though she strives for some things, but is okay with resting on her laurels too. Were Letizia in Marie-Chantal's shoes and required to learn Greek, in nearly 10 years that Marie-Chantal and Pavlos have been married, I think that Letizia would be speaking circles in Greek around Pavlos by now. (And whether she is a reigning princess or not, I do think Marie-Chantal would benefit from learning Greek for the sake of her children and half of her children's heritage.)

 

[Ennyllorac]

Marie-Chantal doesn't speak Greek?

 

[Genevieve]

Marie-Chantal doesn't speak Greek?

Not fluently, even 10 years later.

At her engagement press conference she said that she was already starting to learn Greek but it is a very hard language to learn. While I totally believe her that it is a difficult language to learn, I can't believe that in 10 years she has made so little progress. I think too that even though she said she was determined to "master" it, she gave up her private lessons some time soon after the wedding. And I think that Pavlos not speaking Greek at home with her didn't make her learning Greek any easier.

But still, 10 years later and she can barely hold a conversation in Greek.

 

[Bubbette]

. . . . . Just like I can imagine Letizia and Marie-Chantal becoming friends. They seem like they would get along good. They both seem to have the same kind of personality and style. Although I would say Letizia seems a little bit more outspoken then Marie-Chantal, but that could be from her days as a news anchor where she had to be outspoken. That was her job.

I can't see them being close at all. Letizia is an accomplished, well traveled, educated career woman. I think MC can barely put a sentence together.

 

[Alisa]

"I think MC can barely put a sentence together."

She's alot smarter than that. You never though until you actually get people together.

 

[Isabel]

I think that MC can put a sentence together, but her conversations would most likely be limited. MC has traveled as much as Letizia, but the two women most likely take things in differently and experience them differently. Letizia, for me, does seem as though she would be more academic and most likely more interested in world affairs and a broad range of things. MC, on the other hand, seems to be someone who would be more interested in fashion and things relating to society (the social scene, apperances.....etc). I wouldn't call MC dumb, but I would definitely conclude from reading her interviews over the years that her way of thinking is not very broad because neither are her interests.

 

[samitude]

Well, you could say that, but one cannot go entirely by interviews. The interviewers ask the questions. If all the interviews consist of the same questions over and over and over again then we will get the same answers over and over and over again. The best way to learn about someone is a) Know them personally, B) Know their friends, C) Read their autobiography or a biography that has their stamp of approval on it.

As for her learning Greek, Maria-Olympia was born a year after their marriage. There were two more children born in the next 4 years. If she had three children 4 and under I doubt she could sit down and concentrate long enough to learn Greek. I realise that she does have nannies for her children, but I get the impression that she likes to be the one to take care of them when she can like she should. She's also working a regular job. I'm sure when she comes home she would like to spend time with her children as much as possible.

 

[Isabel]

Well, you could say that, but one cannot go entirely by interviews. The interviewers ask the questions. If all the interviews consist of the same questions over and over and over again then we will get the same answers over and over and over again. The best way to learn about someone is a) Know them personally, B) Know their friends, C) Read their autobiography or a biography that has their stamp of approval on it.

As for her learning Greek, Maria-Olympia was born a year after their marriage. There were two more children born in the next 4 years. If she had three children 4 and under I doubt she could sit down and concentrate long enough to learn Greek. I realise that she does have nannies for her children, but I get the impression that she likes to be the one to take care of them when she can like she should. She's also working a regular job. I'm sure when she comes home she would like to spend time with her children as much as possible.

Thank you , but I do know the best ways of learning about someone and you can tell quite a bit about someone by their mannerism, body language, their interests, and the way in which they answer questions. BTW, no one has asked MC the same questions over and over again. She has had MANY interviews for various reasons and it is clear that there is no depth to her personality. I am not saying that she is a bad person, but she is not someone who could out whit many.

If you any doubt about the difference of the interviews, then please look at some of the links and Alex B's sites. You can see that even after becoming a wife, mother, and entrepeneur, that MC hasn't evolved very much. Which is fine, but why can't it be said if that is how one feels?

And, BTW, Samitude, since you are such a big fan of MC and have so much insight on her personality, might you know her personally. After all, you do believe that the best way to know a person is to know them personally and that we can't go on what she has said herself in interviews. So, if you find that logic to be true and that all of our opinions whether positive or negative should be based on truly knowing MC, then am I to conclude that you have based your opinions and assumptions on knowing MC? Or is that like the rest of us, you are merely stating your opinion based on the resources available to you (pictures, interviews, print journalism etc.) as the rest of us?

 

[Bubbette]

Well, you could say that, but one cannot go entirely by interviews. The interviewers ask the questions. If all the interviews consist of the same questions over and over and over again then we will get the same answers over and over and over again. The best way to learn about someone is a) Know them personally, B) Know their friends, C) Read their autobiography or a biography that has their stamp of approval on it.

As for her learning Greek, Maria-Olympia was born a year after their marriage. There were two more children born in the next 4 years. If she had three children 4 and under I doubt she could sit down and concentrate long enough to learn Greek. I realise that she does have nannies for her children, but I get the impression that she likes to be the one to take care of them when she can like she should. She's also working a regular job. I'm sure when she comes home she would like to spend time with her children as much as possible.

a regular job? Of what? buying couture and getting her hair done? I've studied languages in a group situation, and I would be an expert after 10 years with just three hours a week!

 

[ReinaMissy]

So Samitude is to be taken to task for assuming things about a woman she's never met, but Isabel knows all about the same woman (whom she has never met, either)?

That's laughable. It's absurd to claim you can tell all about a person just from body language.

 

[Bubbette]

MC has been interviewed on video a few times. And her lack of charitable work is self evident.

 

[Alisa]

MC has been interviewed on video a few times. And her lack of charitable work is self evident.

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Aside from raising her children and running her clothing company, Marie-Chantal is very much involved with various charities and foundations.

 

[USCtrojan]

Which charities other than making the sweaters with the Greek flag on them and donating the proceeds to the people of Greece has she done? Honestly?

 

[Bubbette]

You couldn't be farther from the truth. Aside from raising her children and running her clothing company, Marie-Chantal is very much involved with various charities and foundations.

Such as? And what does she do? I'm not saying she should be doing any of this, I'm just wondering.