Squidgy
Serene Highness
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 1,148
- City
- Ottawa
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- Canada
princess olga said:But again, for those of you who would think I am unduly harsh on WA and especially Maxima, please take a sec to compare the royal assignments Maxima has versus for example Letizia. I'm not a huge fan of Letizia but boy, that girl really works hard and has a ton of engagements back-to-back, it has to be said. Or Alexandra of Denmark. In terms of putting in time to do royal engagements, Maxima can <not> hold a candle to those two ladies. And that, in my opinion, will ultimately be detrimental to the popularity of this particular couple.
Yes, Letizia does take part in alot of engagements compared to other Crown Princesses. But what does that mean exactly? We should look at the quality of her work too, rather than just the quantity. For instance, does she perform many solo engagements? Every picture I see of her, she has her husband by her side, and often times her parents-in-law too. That makes life a bit easier - to be surrounded by people who are pros in the business, who can share much of the burden of making small talk, etc. I admit I don't follow either Letizia or Maxima very closely, but from what I do see, Maxima carries out more solo engagements, which I think are more difficult.
We also need to keep in mind that Maxima is a mother of two young children - if she wants to spend more time with her children, I have no problem with that. Who knows, we may find Letizia carrying out fewer engagements once her child is born.
Also, I can't help but wonder if Letizia if being over-worked/over-exposed. I mean, look at the thread on the Spanish RF's summer holidays (of which the princess is very much a part of). It is 30 pages long and counting (see http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6538). And this is supposed to be her "down" time! Yes, it's terrific to see pictures of the Spainish family off duty (sailing, shopping, etc.), but I do sometimes feel sorry for Letizia.
And as The Watcher points out, Maxima does alot of "behind the scenes" work, which I think is wonderful. To me, that suggests she takes her duties seriously and is not just doing them for the publicity value. (And yes to be fair, I imagine that Letizia does much behind the scenes too!)
Don't get me wrong, I admire both princesses equally - I just think we should be careful when we make comparisons.
The Dutch people (who are paying the taxes to support the monarchy) seem happy with Maxima, and that is good enough for me.
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