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

[Lena]

:o hui, just 7 months together. I´ve said one post before, that I believe that a person, who is really in love can make such a fast decision, but it´s absolutely uncommon in Royal houses. A princess-to-be has to learn so many things, and isn´t better to learn it before (at least a little bit)?!

[xicamaluca]

Is pronounced "Leticia" but is written with a Z because the guy taht registrated the name tougth taht her parents were italians. Story by ABC :P

[xicamaluca]

Well, happened with Cristina and Iñaki, they met in the summer Olympic games in Atlanta (96) and in November of 97 they married :P

[Lena]

And how long were Elena and Jaime together before?

[xicamaluca]

I don't know :(

[mari0915]

I'm shocked, It's all over hola.com. I'm still speechless.

[visitor]

A princess-to-be has to learn so many things, and isn´t better to learn it before (at least a little bit)?!

She has a lot of advantages. She's Spanish, knows the culture, speaks the language, knows how to present herself publically, IMO has a great sense of style, judging from the photos posted here. She appears very poised, so adjusting to her duties will probably be very easy for her.

[hrhcp]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3234267.stm

It must be official if BBC reports it.


"Spanish prince to wed journalist

Felipe's love life has been the focus of intense speculation
The heir to the Spanish throne has got engaged, the palace has announced.

Prince Felipe, 35, is to marry television presenter Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, 31, early next summer at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid.

The prince, the only son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, will formally seek his parents' consent on Thursday.

The love life of the prince ... has been the subject of keen speculation in Spain for several years.

Tall and considered dashing, the prince was described by the German press on a visit earlier this year as "Europe's most attractive bachelor".

His two elder sisters, Princesses Elena and Cristina, are already married, both to non-royalty.

Prince Felipe has been heir since his father was crowned king in 1975 during the transition from the Franco dictatorship to the modern Spanish democracy.

A spokesman for the royal household quoted by AFP news agency said the king and queen were satisfied at the match, believing that the bride-to-be "reconciles the necessary conditions" to share their son's responsibilities.

Leading journalist

Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano is a well-known television presenter who, according to Spain's ABC newspaper, first met the prince last December when he was visiting the region of Galicia after an oil slick devastated the shoreline. She was covering the story at the time.

Rocasolano is a television presenter
She has worked as a journalist for ABC newspaper, the state news agency EFE and local channel CNN+.

Prince Felipe possesses a law degree and has also studied at military schools.

He regularly represents Spain at initiation ceremonies for heads of state or government in Latin America and regularly carries out official trips abroad and in Spain.

The Spanish royal household has kept silence on the prince's previous affairs ....

[George]

X: of course the Spanish media is happy for her--one of their own is "in" now.
They better fast make this girl sign a document stating she is NEVER EVER TO
WRITE ANY TELL ALL BOOKS. Period.

I am sure in her heart, HM Queen Sophia is not smiling-this is not the kind of
woman she would of wanted. She would want someone who is like herself-
of a royal house, and if not that, she could tollerate nobility, but this is not
something she acepted without some words to her stubborn son.

It seems the twlight of monarchy if these young men keep making these foolish
mistakes.

The issues is:she was married before. That is a past. I do not care that the Catholic
Church annulled it. In many eyes and minds of the traditional Spanish male and
female-married before is just that: she was married before.

[Ms Hairy Legs]

Personally, I think a noble birth (and even a pristine past) is just window dressing when it comes to the spouses of royals. In this day and age what is most important is:

1. discretion from the moment they get involved. It's true that someone with a controversial past might bring disrepute on the royal family but if it was an isolated event or one that is not likely to be repeated then it ought to be forgiven. Forgiveness is a tenet of Christianity and Catholicism, right?

2. intelligence. Royals are under the limelight and public scrutiny so much more in modern times, and a royal who is inarticulate or just plain dumb is more of an embarrassment than one that is a mere divorcee.

The spouse of a royal represents the country as a sort of a figurehead and an ambassador and if they don't possess a degree of intelligence then it's less likely they'll garner much respect for themselves or their country. Letizia seems to have that at least.

3. A hard work ethic. How much is the royal lifestyle subsidised by tax payers in Spain? I'm not sure, but a Royal spouse who marries into the family and is motivated only by the lifstyle is really a useless waste of resources. From her professional past it is quite obvious that Letizia is a hard, ambitious worker.

Perhaps she's had help from her father's media connections but it would seem that she took full advantages of the opportunities given to her to succeed. Do any spanish posters have an opinion on her newcasting/reporting abilities? Is she respected? In any case she seems like the sort of person who would work hard at whatever job she is given so I reckon she'd make an awesome CP and Queen one day.

I do wonder whether the clositered life of Royalty muight get boring for someone who is used to danger and independance. On a shallow note - WOW! She's HOT. And I think it's the combination of devastingly good looks, solid professional career and what seems to be confidence and media savvy that makes me like her so much more than I could ever like Mary D (even though Mary is a fellow Australian).

[Jo]

Originally posted by Fireweaver@Nov 1st, 2003 - 2:06 pm

Anyone want to bet Nikolaos of Greece announces his engagement any day now?

bit your tongue! Nik is mine not that 22yo brat's.

[Fireweaver]

:) My tongue is now sore from biting it :)

[liv]

is letizia really divorced?This is unbelievable because the spanish house is very catholic.And I don´t think the pope will agree.

[xicamaluca]

Originally posted by liv@Nov 2nd, 2003 - 9:09 am
is letizia really divorced?This is unbelievable because the spanish house is very catholic.And I don´t think the pope will agree.

Yes, she is realy divorced in a civil wedding. And the spanish church has already pronounced about this. The Cardinal that will marry them said that he very happy and proud of marry Felipe. Cardinal Rouco Varela is probably the most respect figure from spanish catholic church and this said it all. They approved the wedding.

[xicamaluca]

The article with the words of Cadinal Rouco Varela

http://es.news.yahoo.com/031101/4/31pwd.html

"
Rouco expresó al Rey su satisfacción por oficiar la boda del Príncipe con Letizia Ortiz
MADRID, 1 (EUROPA PRESS)

El cardenal arzobispo de Madrid, monseñor Rouco Varela, expresó su satisfacción al Rey Don Juan Carlos por oficiar la próxima boda del Principe Felipe con Letizia Ortiz, según informaron fuentes de la Casa Real a Europa Press.

Rouco manifestó al Rey su alegría por el matrimonio del Príncipe y dijo estar encantado de oficiar la ceremonia que se celebrará en el verano de 2004 en la catedral de La Almudena de Madrid.

El hecho de que monseñor Rouco oficie la ceremonia supone el espaldarazo de la Iglesia y la Conferencia Episcopal al enlace entre el Príncipe heredero de la Corona y la periodista Letizia Ortiz, casada en primeras nupcias por lo civil.
"

[Alexandria]

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[Alexandria]

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[Sunshine1303]

OH MY GOD, I am shocked :o :o , how and when is all I wonder. A few months ago there were rumours about Felipe and Christine and now this???????????????

I find all of this a little mystifying, but I have to say stranger things HAVE happened.As long as they TRULY love one another, then thats all that matters :flower:

However I have to say, I am more than surprised that queen Sofia has actually approved of this match. The lady is question IS a divorcee after all - civil marriage or not. Being a staunch roman catholic myself I do know that divorces are considered distasteful so in that respect I AM surprised that even the cardinal has given this match a green flag. I personally think that everyone is giving this a green flag keeping Felipe's age in mind. Had the prince been younger Letizia would've been scrutinized a lot, lot harder - just like the rest of them.

If Felipe is marrying for love then its okay, but I hope and pray that he isn't doing this out of pressure - what with nearly all the other royals getting married.

The only aspect that marriage must be based on is love - out of which comes trust, respect and mutual understanding. If people get married for any other reasons other that the above then they are fooling themselves and unfortunately it becomes a blunder they stand to regret later. So if this is for love - then goodluck and god bless always, but if its for anything else then God help them realise it before its too late.

Wow, such a surprise to wake up to. Indeed, she is gorgeous, however, I'm wondering how Queen Sophia really feels about this union. At one time, I heard that she said that the history of marriages in Spain have been linked ONLY to other royal houses and that she wasn't going to see her son marry a commoner such as Eva Sannum. In my opinion, I believe Eva was beautiful but being a longerie model must have "sunk" her future. Here's to Felipe of Spain and his Leticia! May they survive the paps!

[hrhcp]

Sunshine1303  Posted: Nov 2nd, 2003 - 9:48 am

OH MY GOD, I am shocked , how and when is all I wonder. A few months ago there were rumours about Felipe and Christine and now this???????????????

I find all of this a little mystifying

If I understand you correctly, you mean to say that Prince Felipe was "pressured" into the announcement of an engagement ?

I mean there is a certain sense of truth in that, Felipe being the last royal of eligible age .... and I wonder if a bet was made between Crown Princes in Sydney in 2000 ?

However I have to say, I am more than surprised that queen Sofia has actually approved of this match. The lady is question IS a divorcee after all - civil marriage or not. Being a staunch roman catholic myself I do know that divorces are considered distasteful so in that respect I AM surprised that even the cardinal has given this match a green flag.

even when they are annulled by the church ?