"Queen Sofia Up Close" by Pilar Urbano

[Regina]

Originally Posted by Marengo

I read in comments at various other forums, blogs etc. that HM also stated she believed in creationism. Does anybody know if she made any comment on this issue?

The Queen said she believes schools should teach Religion, at least for the younger students. According to her, children need an explanation about the origins of the world and life.

So, I think the queen believes in Creationism.

[maria-olivia]

You are right Marengo , as professional Queen she should know that.
What happened with our Queen Paola yesterday in India (see the Forum) is really unfair from her.

[MAfan]

The real matter is this: has a Sovereign or a Prince/Princess to be impartial at all, or can he/she be a "human being"? If he/she is impartial is often judged far from his people, if he/she sometimes express his/her opinion obviously he/she displeases someone...In both situations is criticized.

[Menarue]

The important word here is "openly".

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by Menarue

The important word here is "openly".

indeed, mena, indeed

[carlota]

pilar urbano gave an online chat to its readers on her book and other issues this week. you can read it here, in spanish:
elmundo.es. Encuentro digital con Pilar Urbano

[Marengo]

No, if she would have said that the catholic church and the conservative newspapers and opinion makers would have made a fuss, as they always do. And they would have been quite right about it.

[Marengo]

I suppose that one can disagree on how christian it is to judge others, as that is something that in the eyes of many can only be done by God, not by us mortals. But that is a whole other matter of course

And indeed, if she decides that one gaffe on this scale is enough she will be remembered as a competent, dutiful queen indeed, with this matter as a sidenote. If she ends up like her aunt-by-marriage, the blabbering Duchess of Segovia, well... . Of course there are no reasons to assume that she will share more of her personal thoughts with the rest of the world.

About real christians and keeping quiet: they might speak out etc. but there is a sense of hypocricy there too. King Baudouin for example abdicated for one day, so he would not have to sign a bill allowing abortion in belgium. And yet a former courtier (count Benoit Cardon de Lichtbuer, I believe) claims that the king arranged the abortion for a pregnant girlfriend of Prince Laurent. The abortion happened in a hospital run by the catholic church. Personally it is the double moral that annoys me the most, also in this case with Queen Sofia, as it seems rather double that she is critisizing others, considering the state of her own marriage and those of many in her immidiate family. Her own father for example is said to have had several gay affairs.

[Regina]

Originally Posted by Marengo

About real christians and keeping quiet: they might speak out etc. but there is a sense of hypocricy there too. King Baudouin for example abdicated for one day, so he would not have to sign a bill allowing abortion in belgium. And yet a former courtier (count Benoit Cardon de Lichtbuer, I believe) claims that the king arranged the abortion for a pregnant girlfriend of Prince Laurent. The abortion happened in a hospital run by the catholic church. Personally it is the double moral that annoys me the most, also in this case with Queen Sofia, as it seems rather double that she is critisizing others, considering the state of her own marriage and those of many in her immidiate family. Her own father for example is said to have had several gay affairs.

Ok, but these are rumors, right? Personally, I don't believe King Baudoin would do that (but that's just my personal opinion). And those gay affairs are rumors again. We can't tell that King Baudoin or King Pavlos had a double moral as a Christians just because someone say this and that about them.

Sometimes people say one thing when they think and act differently. There are persons who seem intolerant when they are not (remember that Sofia never said she was against gays. She said she is against calling "marriage" to a union between people of the same sex); on the other side you see VIP's (royals, celebrities, politicians, etc) who seem very friendly to everyone, tolerant, liberal... but when you know a bit more about them you get surprised of how controlling and intolerant they are in real life, with their own family and close friends.

[Ariel]

I found this article from the new york times (it was published today), related to Pilar's book.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/wo...8sofia.html?hp

[Regina]

It looks like an interesting book. I don't know if the Queen will like to see the questions she didn't answer published...