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Originally Posted by Squidgy
Thanks for the thoughtful posts Alexandria and Kelly9480.
I admit I know little about Irene and Carlos Hugo, but I agree with you Kelly9480 that something happened in that family to make Margarita vulnerable to a predator like Edwin. It does seem that Irene & Carlos Hugo were too absorbed in their own lives to offer much to their children. And Alexandria made an excellent point about Edwin isolating Margarita from her family & friends so that he would have more control over her.
Maybe someone who knows more about Irene can help out here. I could never figure out if, that by marrying Carlos Hugo, she was an ambitious woman hoping to be Queen of Spain one day or whether, like her daughter, she was simply vulnerable & fell under her husband's spell.
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I don't think either was the case. Irene simply was someone who met a man she fell in love with, it was Carlos Hugo's parents who were the more ambitious as far as wanting him to succeed to the throne and they really pushed for the marriage. ( There was prestige in the fact that Irene was the daughter of a reigning monarch) They also totally antagonised Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard when they came to the Netherlands as they made themselves at home in the Dutch palaces. Irene and Carlos Hugo didn't have children for 6 years after they were married and during the 1960's enjoyed being part of the European jetset. ( After it was more than apparent that the Spanish throne would go to Juan Carlos) Irene and CH's first child was born in 1970 so undoubtably by the time they had children they were ready for them although the marriage was over by 1980, but Irene and CH remained on such good terms that Carlos Hugo is invited to all the Dutch family celebrations such as weddings. ( Unlike Princess Christina's former husband who was totally cut off, he also was very controlling and demeaning to his wife)
Irene's and CH's other children have not turned out to be such sensitive souls as Margarita, her twin Jaime works for Dutch foreign office and in the last few years has had postings in Kabul and Baghdad. Her younger sister Maria Carolina has worked in the Middle East I think in Palestinian refugee camps. Brother Carlos works in finance in Brussels, Margarita was more artistic and trained to be an Interior designer. (Carlos' other claim to notoriety was that in 1997 he agreed to father a child with a former girlfriend who wanted a child. He called it his 'gift' the agreement they came to was that he would not officially recognise this child as his. He may not even have any contact with the boy, also named Carlos)