Engagement of Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz: November 1, 2003

[Alexandria]

I find it so sweet that Felipe is always holding Letizia's hand, a most protective gesture even though she's used to being photographed, he still wants to protect her from all the cameras and reporters. Or that he simply wants to be close to her.

[Eliza]

it's all so romantic and so sweet!!! I just love the way he's always looking at her and holding her hands. Giving her support and reassurance. I'm just green with envy

[didem]

Letizia is elegance and beautiful woman
Letizia and Felipe wish you best wishes and a happy new life

[samitude]

I think Letizia is shorter then 5'9". She had heals on in these pictures and she was still shorter then Queen Sofia. How tall is Sofia? I think Elena and Cristina are something like 5'10" or 5'11". Inaki is something like 6'6" and Felipe is 6'5". I don't know about Jaime, but he seems tall also. Someone on one of these boards said that she (herself) is 5'6" and her boyfriend is 6'5" and she comes up to him in the same height that Letizia comes up to Felipe. I don't know if the poster is counting heals or not. If she isn't counting heals then I'm guessing Letizia to be 5'3 or 4 or 5".

[Julia]

Hi Sylvia.

I remember seeing a photo of Pss Grace standing next to Queen Sofia and they were the same height. Grace was 5 ft. 6 inches, maybe 5ft 6 inches and 1/2. So, I think your guess of 5'4" to 5'5" is a good one (or maybe a little shorter). Still, she looks wonderful w/ Felipe.

[salma]

In Hello magazine have a new special about the royal couple.hello

[Starr]

At least she looks happy and is smiling. I wish them the best.

[Julia]

Letizia reminds me a little of English actress Alice Evans of 102 Dalmatians fame.

[Julia]

In profile Alice Evans and Letizia look very similar to me...

[Lady Jean]

I initially expressed my concern the other day that Letizia might have gotten a cool reception from her future in-laws, but I am very happy to see how things went the night of the concert. I was especially glad to see Elena give her a hug. Thank you for enlightening me about Queen Sophia's views on her children's potential spouses.
When I mentioned Princess Diana thought the family looked down on her....that may have been her misinterpretation, or her view of the past, tainted w/some bitterness (about most things....remember the Morton book interview).

Thank you everyone for posting all of these great pictures. Just a few days ago I had never heard of Letizia.

Originally posted by Yirina77@Nov 3rd, 2003 - 4:53 pm
on this picture she looks definitely like queen Rania

Well...While Rania is pretty and made herself more polished after being a queen, I find Letizia astonishing already, beautiful already, sweet already, polished already and is genuine Not like Rania who lackes alot of spontaneity.

Letizia projects an intelligent humble woman...

The Spanish Crown is really tall. He is 6'5"..the future queen is not short at all..but standing besides such frame makes her not tall...

In all, this is a perfect couple and they seem very relaxed not worrying about the camera..Congrats..

[Fireweaver]

I'm going to hold off on making a final judgement on the future queen of Spain until I see her in a few more events. I think she's got a lot of potential,so I'm (cautiously) optimistic. She is very lovely though.

[Josefine]

the wedding is soon here I thought it could be fun what was posted of the Engagment

[montecarlo]

May 16, 2004 - Independent
Written By: Damien McCrystal

Rumours Poison Spain's Fairytale Wedding

As nail-biting moments go, this one ranks high for Juan Carlos, King of Spain, as he prepares for the marriage of Crown Prince Felipe to Letizia Ortiz, a glamorous television journalist and divorcee, next Saturday. If he can keep the Spanish media from voicing their doubts about her past life and suitability as future queen until after the wedding, then the King will be happy. But if just one Spanish newspaper or TV station breaks ranks with salacious revelations at the 11th hour, then the ensuing rush of negative coverage could turn the wedding into a fiasco.

The King intends the event to be, as the fawning Spanish tabloids have portrayed it, the "wedding of the century". But in the past couple of weeks, sour mutterings have emerged from Spain's newly resurgent political left. There have been calls for spending curbs on the wedding, which is expected to cost tens of millions of euros, not only on the celebrations but also on heightened security. Adding to the irritation was a surprise statement by the new socialist Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, that gay marriages should be legalised and male primacy in the royal line abolished. Given its timing, this was interpreted as a none-too-subtle attempt to undermine the dignity of the wedding and the monarchy in general.

Before the Madrid bombings there seemed no question that Spain would throw its all into celebrating the occasion and allow nothing to tarnish the fairytale romance. Aided by the conservative government - which was ousted immediately after the bombings - Juan Carlos had gone to extraordinary lengths to suppress intrusion into the past of Ms Ortiz, despite the fact that, as the wife of the heir to the throne and future queen, such scrutiny is unavoidable.

The most obvious act was to persuade the government, some months ago, to place all Ms Ortiz's divorce papers under 24-hour guard in a 1,300lb safe purchased specially for the purpose. It was a public signal that she was to be left alone. But behind the scenes there have also been allegations of a campaign of intimidation aimed at the media.

Media figures say privately that they have received implicit warnings that any negative commentary about the impending union will lead to reprisals in the form of extensive tax investigations. It is even widely believed that the future princess's ex-husband, Madrid language professor Alfonso Guerrero, has not only been "briefed" by officials from the palace but also visited by the secret police. In Spain, their role has traditionally been interpreted as suppressing scandals before they come to light.

The worry is that suppressing any revelations now may lead to mass disillusionment when any such details inevitably emerge. These elements have now combined to create a climate of anxiety among the powerful upper middle classes. The suitability of Letizia Ortiz to be the next queen has been their talking point for months, and the tempo is rising fast as the wedding approaches.

More worrying, perhaps, is that the general public is starting to become aware that there are doubts about her. When the engagement was announced last November it was greeted rapturously by the Spanish people. But since then, thousands of internet sites have turned their attention to the future queen, offering lurid speculation about her past. One openly nicknames her "Putizia" - a combination of her name and puta, the Spanish word for whore. Her sexual history, real and supposed, is now being discussed with an almost obsessive zeal.

Pictures alleged to show Ms Ortiz in compromising situations have appeared. None of the Spanish papers will publish them, although in January El Mundo took the relatively daring step of running on its website a fairly innocuous nude portrait said to have been painted some years ago in Mexico, which first decorated a restaurant and then served as a poster for a band.

Most damaging is the one that appears on a pornographic website, xonsuns.com, which apparently shows Ms Ortiz posing in skimpy bikini bottoms, her legs spread wide, and lifting her T-shirt to reveal the lower half of her breasts. The palace has implied that the picture is a composite but experts claim - again, in private - that if it is a fake then it is one of uniquely high quality.

All this has led to a seismic shift in public attitudes. So far the royal family has dealt with these problems by ignoring them while launching a general public relations offensive. Prince Felipe called off two pre-nuptial parties following the Madrid bombings, donating the money that would have been spent to bomb victims' families and towards the cost of a monument.

And the King's strategy appears to be working. A scathing and well-founded story currently being hawked around by a Spanish news agency, about an affair some years ago between Ms Ortiz and a married American journalist, has been roundly rejected by prospective buyers in Spain.

But as the tension mounts in the last few days before the wedding, some sensational revelations about Ms Ortiz might prove irresistible. If so, the wedding - with representatives from more than 40 royal families due to attend - could turn into a supremely grand embarrassment.

Source: Alisa From Royal News and Views

[donnaK]

Jaime Penafiel obviously was not being supressed by the king. You know words of Jaime is much more powerful than the tabloids in Spain. Bottom line, the article itself was about rumors, until someone proves something.

Originally posted by donnaK@May 16th, 2004 - 5:31 pm
Jaime Penafiel obviously was not being supressed by the king. You know words of Jaime is much more powerful than the tabloids in Spain. Bottom line, the article itself was about rumors, until someone proves something.

If there's a scandal on the horizon, then please let it come out in the open before the wedding. I admired Letizia, but now that I'm hearing all these things I am very uncertain about her character. I hope it is not too serious. I would hate to see someone eaten alive by the press and the allegations were not true. But if Letizia is of questionable character, then let it all come out in the wash before she becomes Princess of Asturias.

[Charcoal Grey]

Very interesting article, montecarlo. If true then it is a grave cause for concern. If the media bosses feel pressured to say only positive things, when they have information that is in the best interest of the public to know in regards to Letizia's suitability as a future queen then to me Spain is starting to resemble something of a regime and not a democratic country. It is shocking. I know some people on the internet are very cruel towards Letizia and I don't condone that. She cannot defend herself but if there is some truth to the rumours they shouldn't be suppressed.

In regards to the wedding, when Letizia was walking to the church it wasn't really that she was stopping to get her picture taken, most royals did that, it was the way she walked that was so inappropriate IMO. She strode like she was on a catwalk, very sexily, and it was obvious she enjoyed the attention she was getting. People complained about poor Eva Sannum wearing the wrong type of dress for the Norwegian royal wedding in 2001 and here is Letizia not doing much better in terms of her behaviour. Being a future queen is not about walking like a model, but about dignity and innate grace. She should take a leaf out of Queen Sofia's book and try to be a bit more understated, just my advice.

[Dennism]

Well, I don´t think it is true. I mean Spain is not an island. Surely, in other countries, the tabloids would have published something by now. Does Juan Carlos control them as well? I don´t think so. I just wish for a happy wedding and that rumor-mongers would just leave them alone.

[donnaK]

Originally posted by Charcoal Grey@May 16th, 2004 - 7:00 pm
In regards to the wedding, when Letizia was walking to the church it wasn't really that she was stopping to get her picture taken, most royals did that, it was the way she walked that was so inappropriate IMO. She strode like she was on a catwalk, very sexily, and it was obvious she enjoyed the attention she was getting. People complained about poor Eva Sannum wearing the wrong type of dress for the Norwegian royal wedding in 2001 and here is Letizia not doing much better in terms of her behaviour. Being a future queen is not about walking like a model, but about dignity and innate grace. She should take a leaf out of Queen Sofia's book and try to be a bit more understated, just my advice.

Letizia has the good looks and model-like thin body (if she had the height, she could have become a world-famous super model). With that red-dress, she just appeared natually sexy without even trying, very hard not to look like a movie star or model. Even her hardest critics in Spain thought her looked splendid and elegant.
I'm just amazed that people always found something to criticize her no matter what she did. There were quite a few royal women (Martha Louise, Mette Marit after she took off the jacket) were wearing strapless gowns (even sexier than Letizia's) and no one was saying anything.

[Alexandria]

Originally posted by Dennism@May 16th, 2004 - 8:35 pm
Well, I don´t think it is true. I mean Spain is not an island. Surely, in other countries, the tabloids would have published something by now. Does Juan Carlos control them as well? I don´t think so. I just wish for a happy wedding and that rumor-mongers would just leave them alone.

I agree, Dennism. I've heard a lot of people say that most Spainards aren't happy about Letizia as a future Queen and that if only the press had the freedom to, they would not sing Letizia praises in the media because apparently the Spanish royal court is quite controlling and that if someone writes the slightest negative word about Letizia or the royal family they are cut off from future access.

But yet:

-No one has been able to prove that this is really the case. What about a former Spanish journalist now living abroad writing "the truth" about Letizia?

-And as Dennism pointed out, what about the press from other countries speaking out against Letizia? The Spanish court doesn't and can't possibly control say the North American or British press to speak out against Letizia. What about other countries that have large Spanish populations for which the Spanish wedding might be of interest to them? Why couldn't the newspapers of these countries write out against Letizia?