Relationships between Members of the Spanish Royal Family

[Little_star]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

http://www.vanitatis.com/noticias/reina-infantas-compras-tranquilas-palma-eta-20090811.html

Article on Queen Sofia and the Infantas out and about. It also picks up on the inavoidable topic that the Infantas and Asturias seem to avoid each other, coincidence or on purpose, the Infantas left the island as soon as the Asturias family arrived - after they had to meet on the occasion of the funeral. Seems official events are the only occasions they meet at all, and even there greeting each other was far from cordial:
http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...ne/610x6-1.jpg
.

Considering they were attending a funeral for victims of a terrorist attack it would hardly have been appropriate for them to indulge in over the top displays of affection.

I can just imagine how much criticism Letizia would receive on this board if she had been pictured smiling or laughing with Cristina.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by Little_star

Considering they were attending a funeral for victims of a terrorist attack it would hardly have been appropriate for them to indulge in over the top displays of affection.

I can just imagine how much criticism Letizia would receive on this board if she had been pictured smiling or laughing with Cristina.

There are tons of pictures like these out there if you go through this threat that show the same non-affection, even on happy events.

[Emmily]

Originally Posted by Little_star

Considering they were attending a funeral for victims of a terrorist attack it would hardly have been appropriate for them to indulge in over the top displays of affection.

I can just imagine how much criticism Letizia would receive on this board if she had been pictured smiling or laughing with Cristina.

That's true. However, it is possible for two people to show warmth and affection toward each other without smiling and laughing.

[Duke of Marmalade]

El Semanal Digital=
http://www.semana.es/Imagenes/portada3638.gif

Spanish media is picking up on the tension between the Infantas and Letizia. Considering that royals in general usually pull off a good acting performance to make people believe all is well even when it is not, for their own sake, it remains telling that the Infantas are unwilling to do for some time now. After her separation Elena is now clearly closing ranks with her sister in Washington and not with her sister-in-law in Madrid.

Both parties avoid each other where they can and even if they are forced to attend the same event there is not the slightest affection or warmth towards each other. Nobody is expected to love their in-laws but even a jovial "how are you doing" feeling is missing, and that is quite telling for royals = professional actors.

[muriel]

Not sure if any of the readers saw the article in the Sunday Times (30 Aug) about the strained relationship between the Infantas and the Crown Princess. The article refers to a strained relationship, with few words exchanged between. It was suggested in the article that the Queen is a supporter of the Crown Princess, if nothing else, as a way of keeping intact her relationship with Felipe.

[HeLLeNa14]

Originally Posted by muriel

Not sure if any of the readers saw the article in the Sunday Times (30 Aug) about the strained relationship between the Infantas and the Crown Princess. The article refers to a strained relationship, with few words exchanged between. It was suggested in the article that the Queen is a supporter of the Crown Princess, if nothing else, as a way of keeping intact her relationship with Felipe.

In which section can this be found muriel? Thanks, in advance.

[sproketti]

Originally Posted by muriel

Not sure if any of the readers saw the article in the Sunday Times (30 Aug) about the strained relationship between the Infantas and the Crown Princess. The article refers to a strained relationship, with few words exchanged between. It was suggested in the article that the Queen is a supporter of the Crown Princess, if nothing else, as a way of keeping intact her relationship with Felipe.

I'm starting to think that the problem they are having, if there is one, is that by marrying, Felipe has thrown the family relationships into a tailspin.

With their father's health problems and the advancing age of their parents and Felipe marrying later rather than sooner, they have had to put Letizia on the fast track to the head of the family line. She didn't have the luxury years to find her natural place in their family. The infantas may feel shoved to the side.

They have grown up knowing how their lives were going to pan out but it wasn't until Felipe married that everyone's "jobs" changed in degrees of importance. That must be tough to deal with.

Letizia is now in the position of having a husband who is going to be king and a daughter who will someday be queen and the pressure to succeed at this must be incredible.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by sproketti

I'm starting to think that the problem they are having, if there is one, is that by marrying, Felipe has thrown the family relationships into a tailspin.

With their father's health problems and the advancing age of their parents and Felipe marrying later rather than sooner, they have had to put Letizia on the fast track to the head of the family line. She didn't have the luxury years to find her natural place in their family. The infantas may feel shoved to the side.

They have grown up knowing how their lives were going to pan out but it wasn't until Felipe married that everyone's "jobs" changed in degrees of importance. That must be tough to deal with.

Letizia is now in the position of having a husband who is going to be king and a daughter who will someday be queen and the pressure to succeed at this must be incredible.

The article was short on details, but you could be right. This is often the situation in many a wealthy and prominent family (and more so in the case of a royal family) where the birth princesses are going to feel left out when the crown prince marries, and the new crown princess takes on the limelight.

[muriel]

Originally Posted by HeLLeNa14

In which section can this be found muriel? Thanks, in advance.

It was in the main body of the newspaper (second last page). You will be able to see it on the website of The Times if you pay to access it.

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by muriel

The article was short on details, but you could be right. This is often the situation in many a wealthy and prominent family (and more so in the case of a royal family) where the birth princesses are going to feel left out when the crown prince marries, and the new crown princess takes on the limelight.

I agree. There is always a certain amount of jealousy in all families [rich or poor, royal or non-royal]. It is just a fact of life. Some people feel slighted by a new family member taking the center of attention away from them. Others resent their parents giving the new family member love [which prior was theirs alone] It happens all the time. Some husbands even get that way when their wives show their new borns unconditional love as they feel it is taking some time and love away fom them. It just has to run it course. In the end, the jealous person will never win. They just have to get over it and realize that the world and their family was not created just for them. Its a control thing. Actually I have seen this more in average families than in the wealthy.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by sproketti

I'm starting to think that the problem they are having, if there is one, is that by marrying, Felipe has thrown the family relationships into a tailspin.

With their father's health problems and the advancing age of their parents and Felipe marrying later rather than sooner, they have had to put Letizia on the fast track to the head of the family line. She didn't have the luxury years to find her natural place in their family. The infantas may feel shoved to the side.

They have grown up knowing how their lives were going to pan out but it wasn't until Felipe married that everyone's "jobs" changed in degrees of importance. That must be tough to deal with.

Letizia is now in the position of having a husband who is going to be king and a daughter who will someday be queen and the pressure to succeed at this must be incredible.

I dont think that there is any jealousy going on from Cristina and Elenas side, they have grown up knowing what would happen when their brother gets married, it was always clear that his wife would take position within the core family. Once Felipe is King the Infantas wont be family members anymore in terms of SRF website, just like the present King's sisters.

What I do think is that that there is a clash of personalities, judging from the attitude that we all could see on media presentation and engagement day ("Let me finish" and turning the back to the Kings and letting them wait while chatting to the mass media), Letizia went into the family as if she already knew everything while in reality she knew nothing. Its easy to see that she annoyed a lot of people, most likely the Infantas among them, what made transition difficult. Here I am and I am going to show you how it works (the impression of the early days) is not the best way to become a family member. Letizia has the superior position but its always a matter of how things are being handled and its not difficult for Zarzuela insiders to let the outsider out in the rain in a subtile way.
Until today, Letizia may still have the superior position but we all can see how she was cut back and "made fit" by the grey men in Zarzuela, her original type of personality clearly wasnt welcome, what has probably caused major frustration with her and Felipe while the Infantas have both, the privileges and their own lifes.

I think they simply dont like each other but have learned to put on a show in public, what not only suits everyone but is necessary for the future of the monarchy.

[donnaK]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

I dont think that there is any jealousy going on from Cristina and Elenas side, they have grown up knowing what would happen when their brother gets married, it was always clear that his wife would take position within the core family. Once Felipe is King the Infantas wont be family members anymore in terms of SRF website, just like the present King's sisters.

But when it actually changed, they might find it hard to take. Elena probably had less an issue, however Cristina seemed really enjoy the attention, liked her public duties, it wouldn't be easy for her for sure IMO.

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

What I do think is that that there is a clash of personalities, judging from the attitude that we all could see on media presentation and engagement day ("Let me finish" and turning the back to the Kings and letting them wait while chatting to the mass media), Letizia went into the family as if she already knew everything while in reality she knew nothing. Its easy to see that she annoyed a lot of people, most likely the Infantas among them, what made transition difficult. Here I am and I am going to show you how it works (the impression of the early days) is not the best way to become a family member. Letizia has the superior position but its always a matter of how things are being handled and its not difficult for Zarzuela insiders to let the outsider out in the rain in a subtile way.
Until today, Letizia may still have the superior position but we all can see how she was cut back and "made fit" by the grey men in Zarzuela, her original type of personality clearly wasnt welcome, what has probably caused major frustration with her and Felipe while the Infantas have both, the privileges and their own lifes.

I think they simply dont like each other but have learned to put on a show in public, what not only suits everyone but is necessary for the future of the monarchy.

I always think some people overreacted to 'let me finish'. Both she and Felipe were talking to the media, they probably didn't see the Kings coming in right away, both were continue talking, why always blamed Letizia alone ?
I find your post rather contradicting. If she was being cut back by the grey men after the engagement, how was it possible she was showing infantas she knew everything ?
Letizia is the crown princess, she deserves her own role and solo acts. if someone had to cut the acts in order to fit everyone into the budget (the SRF didn't get extra money when Felipe married Letizia unlike some other European monarchies), most likely they were the lowest ranked infantas. What else option could it be ?
I see Cristina has become more friendly towards Letizia after she moved to DC (at the funerals and Greek wedding). With the distance, there is not much issue regarding their roles in the family anymore.

[Duke of Marmalade]

Originally Posted by donnaK

I find your post rather contradicting. If she was being cut back by the grey men after the engagement, how was it possible she was showing infantas she knew everything ?
Letizia is the crown princess, she deserves her own role and solo acts. if someone had to cut the acts in order to fit everyone into the budget (the SRF didn't get extra money when Felipe married Letizia unlike some other European monarchies), most likely they were the lowest ranked infantas. What else option could it be ?

Sorry, let me clarify. I didnt mean the cut back to fit in a financial meaning but personality wise. Of course Letizia should have her own agenda, profile etc, and if that can only happen with Infantas fading into the background for financial reasons so be it.

Letizia had been cut back and made fit by showing her the position behind Felipe, shut up and give birth so to say, no more bossy talking and great gestures but submissive wife what is very contradicting to the way she presented herself on engagement day, like Here I am and where are my tasks. From her attitude she saw herself like the coming royal activist, not what she is today, point of attention for gossip and fashion.

[Water]

It's quite annoying to always fabricate one's own thinking into reality. I find that quite bored to repeat again and again but withour any facts to prove that.

[Alondra]

All we can do is give our own interpretation when the subjects are not speaking to the press.

Personally, I think Letizia is dealing with the sister in law from hell - Cristina. Elena is following her sister with or without much conviction.

I briefely met Cristina during the Sydney Olympic Games. She was a snob, who would not even say "hi" to the Spanish national office the few hours she was there. I wasn't impressed at all and neither the rest of the team including her husband's handball one.

[madeleine victoria]

Well, things seem OK during the Greek royal wedding...they were smiling and I find it hard to believe they were faking it at some point. The pictures seem natural.

[Count]

Originally Posted by Alondra

All we can do is give our own interpretation when the subjects are not speaking to the press.

Personally, I think Letizia is dealing with the sister in law from hell - Cristina. Elena is following her sister with or without much conviction.

I briefely met Cristina during the Sydney Olympic Games. She was a snob, who would not even say "hi" to the Spanish national office the few hours she was there. I wasn't impressed at all and neither the rest of the team including her husband's handball one.

I agree with you, nothing surprising: this behaviour is typical of the Royal family of Greece, especially the King, very snob with people he does not know or he considers not to be at his same social level. Female members of the Spanish family have the same blood...What a difference with the Great King Juan Carlos!

[Winnie]

Originally Posted by Duke of Marmalade

I dont think that there is any jealousy going on from Cristina and Elenas side, they have grown up knowing what would happen when their brother gets married, it was always clear that his wife would take position within the core family. Once Felipe is King the Infantas wont be family members anymore in terms of SRF website, just like the present King's sisters.

I was very interested in your take/opinion on the siblings, although mine is quite the opposite. Letizia gave up quite a lucrative job that already had her in the public eye for her own achievements. She did not need her family to to make her a Spanish household name. She was well know for herself. She has been "put down" to conform to the government's ideals. Many of us have even commented that she had a "livelier" personality and dressed better while on TV. This, the government seems to sit upon. Felipe's sisters, on the other hand, have only the relationship to the royal family to garner their name in print. Eventually this will be taken away, except on the very few occasions. This threat of being out-shone can really be a problem for someone that has nothing else to fall back on. They might have realized it would happen some day, but, like someone's death, you really never want it to happen. One might not want to call it jealousy but there will be a resentment. It is human nature. It can certainly affect a mother when her children no longer get top billing in news articles like they once did. This will sort all out in the future. It has to.

[nascarlucy]

A lot of times when people try to present themselves in a certain way (everyone getting along when they don't), some people around them see this. It can be very subtle (some minor thing which is not noticeable to the average person) but someone who has a sixth sense about them picks up on it right away. Or someone who is very clairvoyant.

As you can see, since people are discussing this, the average person are beginning to see what might be going on.

[sproketti]

My impression during the press conference after the official engagement was that the king and queen were giving Felipe and Letizia their moment in the spotlight. I thought it was very sweet. It was probably a moment the king and queen were starting to wonder if they'd ever see.