The Royal Family of Spain Current Events: Part 22

[Marika86]

"Antena 3" The representative of the Congo remove his hand when approaching the Princess of Asturias

El representante del Congo retira la mano cuando se acerca a la princesa de Asturias - ANTENA3.COM

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[Lenora]

Originally Posted by Marika86

"Antena 3" The representative of the Congo remove his hand when approaching the Princess of Asturias

El representante del Congo retira la mano cuando se acerca a la princesa de Asturias - ANTENA3.COM

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Why did he act in this way?

[Kasumi]

The newspaper claimes that Congo ambassador refused to shake hands with the Princess of Asturias at the diplomatic gala.

Article in Spanish
Google translation into English

It seems to me, that not shaking hands with women is due to religious rules (Islamic?).
For example, at the same reception the ambassador of Iran Morteza Saffari Natanzi didn't shake hands with the Queen and the Princess.

[lula]

The Congolese ambassador extended his hand to the Princess, and when she extended her hand, he left without shaking hands. No one knows why, if it was a religious matter, as in the Iranian case, he had greeted her with his head and had not extended his hand.

[Kasumi]

Originally Posted by lula

... No one knows why, if it was a religious matter, as in the Iranian case, he had greeted her with his head and had not extended his hand.

Thanks, lula, I've noticed the bow too.
I wish we had more info from reliable media.

[Lenora]

Thank You for the information.
It seems to have been a very frustrating moment for Princess Letizia, if it were a religious protocol,Letizia should have known it, I guess.

[donnaK]

Originally Posted by Lenora

Thank You for the information.
It seems to have been a very frustrating moment for Princess Letizia, if it were a religious protocol,Letizia should have known it, I guess.

Why did he shake Sofia's hand if it were a religious protocol ? I doubt there is a protocol you can only shake mom or grandma's hand (that's about the only explanation I can come up with) LOL .

[Danishla]

This incident is so bizarre! However, I want to say that Princess Letizia handled it all very well; she did act surprised but maintained her place and continued to extend her hand to the other guests. Good for her!

[Emmily]

Originally Posted by Danishla

This incident is so bizarre! However, I want to say that Princess Letizia handled it all very well; she did act surprised but maintained her place and continued to extend her hand to the other guests. Good for her!

I felt bad for her! Very awkward, but she handled it as best as she could.

[jonc93]

Well the Congo "diplomat" sure embarrassed himself and his country today by acting that way towards the future Queen of Spain. Long gone are the days when people respected royals, at least in public. What he did was rude, but Letizia showed true class, although she did look shocked that is to be expected when one is treated in such a way.

[Duke of Marmalade]

True, it would be easier to explain if he hadnt shaken Sofia's hand, either. The Iranian delegates didnt shake either woman's hand but bowed their heads.
http://www.vanitatis.com/video/2012/...princesa-1982/

He does look like he's playing a joke on Letizia, maybe he rather had some kind of blackout or wanted to bring Congo on today's media map

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Kasumi

The newspaper claimes that Congo ambassador refused to shake hands with the Princess of Asturias at the diplomatic gala.

Article in Spanish
Google translation into English

It seems to me, that not shaking hands with women is due to religious rules (Islamic?).
For example, at the same reception the ambassador of Iran Morteza Saffari Natanzi didn't shake hands with the Queen and the Princess.

Christianity is the largest religion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (96% of the population),of those about 50% are Roman Catholic & the rest belong to various Protestant Churches.

It may not have anything to do with religious reasons but rather cultural.

Women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Patra]

It seems just plain rude to me- shake the hand of the Queen, then shake the hand of the future Queen, i say!

[lula]

Photos

Los Reyes, acompañados de los Príncipes, reciben al cuerpo diplomático - Familia Real Española - Familia Real - Revista de corazón, prensa rosa y famosos - Diez Minutos

Letizia et Felipe d'Espagne élégants et soudés pour les amitiés internationales

[lula]

The Embassy of Congo has explained that it was a misunderstanding, because the representative of the embassy is in Spain for a few months, was the first time attending the event and still does not understand Spanish well.

El encargado de negocios del Congo asegura que fue «un malentendido» - ABC.es

[NGalitzine]

Obviously his embassy did not brief him well on what to expect and what he was expected to do, although I don't think you need to speak Spanish to know that when someone extends their hand to you, you shake it. Since he was not the first in the line up he could have observed how others behaved and followed their lead.

[Al_bina]

Spletnik -The Spanish royals attend the annual reception for the Diplomatic Corp

[jonc93]

The whole not understanding Spanish is a bad excuse, he's trying to say that in a few months in Spain he never had someone say the words "Hola" or something similar to him? He was trying to snub the princess for whatever reason, and didn't expect it to get so much media attention, and now that it did he's trying to play it off, he even smirked when he walked away.

[Duke of Marmalade]

By the end of the year, the long-talked-about book about the SRF by Andrew Morton (Diana's etc biographer) is due to be published by the end of the year.
El bigrafo de Diana de Gales prepara un libro sobre la Casa Real espaola

[marine2109]

La Casa del Rey cut a 2.01 percent annual revenue, a 7.19 percent since 2010

La Casa del Rey recorta un 2,01 por ciento sus ingresos anuales, un 7,19 por ciento desde | Realeza | Noticias hola.com

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