Relationships between Members of the Spanish Royal Family


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:previous:
Not cool relationship as such - more like lack of it.

Infanta Pilar says that while they used to be quite close with King Juan Carlos, nowadays they don't communicate or meet at all. That is, according to the Infanta, because she is rarely ever in Madrid, and the King is busy as Head of State. Infanta Pilar and the King almost never write or talk to each other.

The Infanta also says she has little time and opportunity to meet her own children and grandchildren, let alone her nieces (Elena and Cristina) and nephew (Felipe), or their families.

The rest of the article focuses on her recent writing experience: the interviewer asks whether she ever thought of penning an autobiography. The Infanta says she has, many times - but nothing came out of it. She states that her collaboration on the book doesn't mean she'll do any further writing: she only agreed to take part because she was asked by her niece, Maria Zurita (who is behind the project) and her children.
 
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:previous:
Not cool relationship as such - more like lack of it.

Infanta Pilar says that while they used to be quite close with King Juan Carlos, nowadays they don't communicate or meet at all. That is, according to the Infanta, because she is rarely ever in Madrid, and the King is busy as Head of State. Infanta Pilar and the King almost never write or talk to each other.

The Infanta also says she has little time and opportunity to meet her own children and grandchildren, let alone her nieces (Elena and Cristina) and nephew (Felipe), or their families.

The rest of the article focuses on her recent writing experience: the interviewer asks whether she ever thought of penning an autobiography. The Infanta says she has, many times - but nothing came out of it. She states that her collaboration on the book doesn't mean she'll do any further writing: she only agreed to take part because she was asked by her niece, Maria Zurita (who is behind the project) and her children.

Isn't that sad :sad:

What ever is going on a Zarzuela,there seems to be very few good relationships within the Royal family!
 
I think its rather normal. I know a lot of people, including me, who would not communicate with some siblings more often than at a handful of times during the year, most times at special occasions like birthdays or family gatherings. Its not because there are problems, the relationship is good, but at a certain age each is busy with their own lifes and families and many family members live far apart.

Well, the SRF is not even "normal", and its even easier to explain why there is only little contact. JC was groomed by his father for the special job at Franco, spent his childhood either at foreign schools or from the age of nine onwards away from his family in Spain. I dont know if additional personal problems are the reason they dont speak, its possible because of the difficult family structure, the death of Alfonso etc, but most likely there was never time to built a close relationship with the sisters. JC has had so much on his mind over the past centuries, difficulties, problems, he is a Men's Man, I dont see why he would have ever turned to his sisters to discuss. Apparently JC doesnt speak to his own wife, his council will be non-family.
 
I think its rather normal. I know a lot of people, including me, who would not communicate with some siblings more often than at a handful of times during the year, most times at special occasions like birthdays or family gatherings. Its not because there are problems, the relationship is good, but at a certain age each is busy with their own lifes and families and many family members live far apart.

Well, the SRF is not even "normal", and its even easier to explain why there is only little contact. JC was groomed by his father for the special job at Franco, spent his childhood either at foreign schools or from the age of nine onwards away from his family in Spain. I dont know if additional personal problems are the reason they dont speak, its possible because of the difficult family structure, the death of Alfonso etc, but most likely there was never time to built a close relationship with the sisters. JC has had so much on his mind over the past centuries, difficulties, problems, he is a Men's Man, I dont see why he would have ever turned to his sisters to discuss. Apparently JC doesnt speak to his own wife, his council will be non-family.


Though I hate speculation I would use the word 'normal' quite loosely around the Borbóns :D

It seems both of the king's sisters are closer to the queen than their brother.I would be very interested if Infanta Pilar puts pen to paper a writes her autobiography,she's lived through a very interesting period of both Spanish and world history!
 
I've spent two hours reading this thread and I am no where near near the end, but IMO, everyone here is wasting their time speculating on rumors & innuendo. TM The King & Queen are two different people and thus they react differently in public. KJC is a Boubom, born and bred, it took HM Queen Ena well over ten years to even put a dent in the stiff Spanish protocol and she had Major issues with her husbands staff. Not to mention the constant infidelities , queen Maria Cristina once said "if she had to give credence to the supposed number of grandchildren accredited to her son she couldn't keep count" , not to mention Ena and here were as opposed on WW I as two people could be while still residing in the Oriente Palace in Madrid. Yet, differences happen, Ena was misjudged, misquoted, yet she didn't go crying about it in public, she was The Queen of Spain after all. The King has has a lot on his plate in the last few years , and his marriage , IMO is between Their Majesties.
You can't call him totally undemonstrative, their are pictures of him OPENLY crying during his mothers funeral, and HM THE Queen has said publicly that he was very close to, and devastated by the death of his "gangan" HM Queen Victoria Eugenie. Simply put, it's always easier to comment about when you aren't the ones "inside the fishbowl""!!
 
I've spent two hours reading this thread and I am no where near near the end, but IMO, everyone here is wasting their time speculating on rumors & innuendo. TM The King & Queen are two different people and thus they react differently in public. KJC is a Boubom, born and bred, it took HM Queen Ena well over ten years to even put a dent in the stiff Spanish protocol and she had Major issues with her husbands staff. Not to mention the constant infidelities , queen Maria Cristina once said "if she had to give credence to the supposed number of grandchildren accredited to her son she couldn't keep count" , not to mention Ena and here were as opposed on WW I as two people could be while still residing in the Oriente Palace in Madrid. Yet, differences happen, Ena was misjudged, misquoted, yet she didn't go crying about it in public, she was The Queen of Spain after all. The King has has a lot on his plate in the last few years , and his marriage , IMO is between Their Majesties.
You can't call him totally undemonstrative, their are pictures of him OPENLY crying during his mothers funeral, and HM THE Queen has said publicly that he was very close to, and devastated by the death of his "gangan" HM Queen Victoria Eugenie. Simply put, it's always easier to comment about when you aren't the ones "inside the fishbowl""!!

I completely agree with you! If you're frustrated with this type of speculation here, then I wouldn't even step foot in the British threads!
 
Duke, you have not understood me, I do not think Letizia would fight for something that was not fair to her, just look at how little has been achieved after 10 years. That's what have tried to sell people close to the infantas at Zarzuela.

The salaries that have been released this year do not correspond to the tax data of Infanta Cristina a few years ago. The money of the ladies has not changed, therefore means that in the early years Letizia received much less and Infantas much more (three times what now receives Elena).

I do not think it was so much a matter of money, such as role in the family and the public. Infanta Cristina was the "perfectl" of the family, and that was the role she did not want to lose. Infanta Elena and her family, snobs, not handsome, with Jaime's disease ... was no competition. But Letizia is a magnet for the press, and stole the spotlight that her and her family enjoyed, Cristina never had problems overexpose her children to the press. I think, at the beginning, that is why she always marked distances in family photos. Is there any picture where Cristina shows to have some connection with her nieces?

I am still not convinced. Cristina cannot be so stupid NOT to know that any wife of Felipe would not only outrank her but steal the limelight of the press. As a consequence, she would at least have kept her distance from the beginning and not only after a few years. Besides, a daughter of a king remains a daughter of a king with all privileges. And Letizia was never the golden girl of the press, she got the most coverage, but from the beginning this coverage was critical.
IMO the reason for the fallout is more personal, a clash of character, because at some point Letizia got too independent to walk the Queen/Infanta line, certainly the Noos case was one of the reasons.
Queen Sofia is far too professional to show any personal sentiment, Cristina is not. She is her fathers daughter, in many aspects.
 
One thing is to know things are going to happen, and quite another to live them. And it is clear that they saw what they wanted to see.

Infanta Cristina also should have been smart enough to stop Noos and tell her husband that business with private enterprises, but never with public institutions ... and she did not. And we do not know if even today, from her golden exile in Switzerland, she is aware of the size of their errors.

Obviously if Letizia would have been more easily manipulated, things had been different. They can be thankful that she was not, because then the future of the Crown would be even more black.
 
:previous:

Doesn't surprise me. Some years ago I remember seeing photos of video of a reunion of the Spanish and Greek Royal families who had gathered to commemorate the anniversary of the death of King Paul, I believe.

Letizia was so obviously the outsider among Felipe's extended family and close cousins it was almost painful to witness...like a high school clique shutting out the "undesirable" girl.:sad:
 
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While I agree that the girls should be seen more, I had to laugh at the aforementioned "article". Why must always be Letizia's fault?
 
The press knows that the hide and seek will be over when the girls come of age and attend royal events. And the time will come that the photocalls will be less robotic and controlled, it would look silly to cling on/be all over adult girls. IMO the photocalls are always awful, nothing natural about it, but 'us against them', let's endure it and get out of here. But this will change, the press will be fascinated with Leonor and Sofia and Letizia will cease to be the center of attention, who cares what she wears or does when her daughters will be on full display.
 
The press knows that the hide and seek will be over when the girls come of age and attend royal events. And the time will come that the photocalls will be less robotic and controlled, it would look silly to cling on/be all over adult girls. IMO the photocalls are always awful, nothing natural about it, but 'us against them', let's endure it and get out of here. But this will change, the press will be fascinated with Leonor and Sofia and Letizia will cease to be the center of attention, who cares what she wears or does when her daughters will be on full display.

Of course. and that is how it should be. Letizia first and most important role at present is to protect her children at all times until they are of age. After that, and hopefully they will have instilled in them calmness and poise in front of many rude media, parents won't be protective as such. And then public will pull apart what those sweet girls are wearing and critique what they eat, etc. when they go out. Lord what an awful way to have to live for the rest of their predestine lives.
 
Its a shame that there is no normal, authentic or relaxed atmosphere when being in public, it always looks forced, there is not one other royal family where the kids are only seen like five time per year max, overprotected and controlled by their parents.

It is especially a shame because today's 'enemy', press and public, is the very audience these girls will have to live with, while Leonor has her role and the rules that come with it, Sofia will be fair game at some point, the future Queen's sister who might have a role until her father dies and her sister becomes Queen, then becoming a private person who - and her family - still have to live a public life.

From day one it was all about secrecy and only very reluctantly sharing anything, like pictures on birthdays, school starts what has stopped completely for many years now. When the girls are 18 the press will relive what they have been missing in the past instead of a normal and steady exposure to the press and cameras from the beginning, as practiced in other royal houses.
 
I'm a firm believer in parents ultimately know best. It's Felipe and Letizia who have their children's best interests in mind, not the tabloid press. No amount of photocalls will satisfy a tabloid.

Every family is different, including royal families. For now F&L believe this is the appropriate level of exposure and I'll always give parents the benefit of the doubt.
 
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Its a shame that there is no normal, authentic or relaxed atmosphere when being in public, it always looks forced, there is not one other royal family where the kids are only seen like five time per year max, overprotected and controlled by their parents.

I think we do not see the Dutch princesses much more: winter- and summer photo shoots, king's day and this year the Olympics. That is probably all for 2016. Though when they do apear in public it seems relatively relaxed.
 
Its a shame that there is no normal, authentic or relaxed atmosphere when being in public, it always looks forced, there is not one other royal family where the kids are only seen like five time per year max, overprotected and controlled by their parents.

It is especially a shame because today's 'enemy', press and public, is the very audience these girls will have to live with, while Leonor has her role and the rules that come with it, Sofia will be fair game at some point, the future Queen's sister who might have a role until her father dies and her sister becomes Queen, then becoming a private person who - and her family - still have to live a public life.

From day one it was all about secrecy and only very reluctantly sharing anything, like pictures on birthdays, school starts what has stopped completely for many years now. When the girls are 18 the press will relive what they have been missing in the past instead of a normal and steady exposure to the press and cameras from the beginning, as practiced in other royal houses.

I am torn on this one. I agree that Letizia(and Felipe's) first obligation is to the welfare of their children and not the public. BUT....

I am always struck by how controlled this young Royal family and especially the children appear in public. They lack anything resembling spontaneity. I don't think I have ever seen Leo and Sofia laughing, crying, playing, throwing a fit, like well...children.:ermm:

I have seen every other Royal family with young children do that..Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark Luxembourg, Monaco. But not in Spain.

Belgium's Princess Elisabeth and Estelle of Sweden are a perfect example of children whom their parents seem to be gradually introducing to their public roles in a way that allows them to still be "normal" children.

It is obvious to me how uncomfortable the Spanish Royal children are with publicity and for Leo in particular I don't think this bodes well for the future.

As the future queen of Spain she is of an age where F&L should be making a concerted effort to try and make her her more comfortable in public.
 
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I'm a firm believer in parents ultimately know best. It's Felipe and Letizia who have their children's best interests in mind, not the tabloid press. No amount of photocalls will satisfy a tabloid.

Every family is different, including royal families. For now F&L believe this is the appropriate level of exposure and I'll always give parents the benefit of the doubt.

I agree. It is their children. People without young ones usually give the most unwanted advise [unless it is the in-laws] but ultimately it is the parents that know the mind, temperament and failings of their children. It is their responsibility to protect and teach when they see fit. The girls seem to love their parents and grandparents so it doesn't look like they are ill-treated. I am sure that by the time they are older teens they will be fine.
 
I agree. It is their children. People without young ones usually give the most unwanted advise [unless it is the in-laws] but ultimately it is the parents that know the mind, temperament and failings of their children. It is their responsibility to protect and teach when they see fit. The girls seem to love their parents and grandparents so it doesn't look like they are ill-treated. I am sure that by the time they are older teens they will be fine.


I am not in the position to question Felipe's and Letizia's parenting choices, nor do I want to do it. However, they must keep in mind that they are no longer the Prince and Princess of Asturias, but rather the King and Queen of Spain. The level of attention on their daughters will naturally increase then, especially on Princess Leonor, who is now the heiress to the throne.
 
Of course its the parent's decision on how to handle the family matters. What they do behind closed doors is their business only.

But they are not only the private Borbon family unit but the first family of the country.
We see usually see the girls on 3 very controlled outings: Easter, Mallorca, National Day. On top of that maybe one or two occasions when the media takes pictures when they leave a restaurant etc, we see forced smiles with Leonor on Letizias hand, Sofia on Felipes.
The pictures on the website are 4 years old what is half a lifetime ago for girls aged 10 and 8. They bestow one of the highest orders of the country on Leonor and there is not even a recent picture of her.

Other royal houses might not show their kids at more times either, but they do it far more relaxed, not enforced, understanding that the media will be the sparring partner for the rest of their life, therefore the more natural the relationship is, the better. Now many will say, the media will never be happy, but imo the SRF do not even the very basic thing, providing pictures on special occasions because everything is 'private'. At some point the public needs to bond with their future Queen, and that doesnt happen when a grown woman in her 20s is thrown at them who was hidden away behind privacy as a kid, teenager and student.
 
According to Goiogle translate the Infanta is ' infatuated' by her brother and sister-in-law, so that would make things akward indeed ;).

The supposed rift is about the cordon sanitaire around Cristina and family for family events. Although it may not make family tensions easier, it is a wise thing that the present king and queen have been keeping their distance. It is largely for that reason that the monarchy survived this matter undamaged. The king's first responsibility is to Spain and only after that to his family. I would be surprised if infanta Elena -who has seen up close how much sacrifice the crown demanded from her mother- would not understand her brothers decision in this matter.
 
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According to Goiogle translate the Infanta is ' infatuated' by her brother and sister-in-law, so that would make things akward indeed ;).

The supposed rift is about the cordon sanitaire around Cristina and family for family events. Although it may not make family tensions easier, it is a wise thing that the present king and queen have been keeping their distance. It is largely for that reason that the monarchy survived this matter undamaged. The king's first responsibility is to Spain and only after that to his family. I would be surprised if infanta Elena -who has seen up close how much sacrifice the crown demanded from her mother- would not understand her brothers decision in this matter.

Is there a cordon sanitaire around Cristina and the children for family events? We know that the majority of her nuclear family has supported Cristina - Sofia, Elena and her children, and even Juan Carlos, (close friends have gone on record saying he's not cut ties with his daughter, and Hola/Hello, which, although sugary, tends to be right more than not on royal matters, said that JC is a loving and supportive father and grandfather to Cristina and the children). She continues to be close to the Borbon Two Sicilies. Members of the Bulgarian royal family and her Greek cousins have gone on the record defending her. Cristina has attended public events relating to the family over the past couple of years and presumably she's attended many more private ones we know nothing about.

If Felipe has attempted to isolate his sister from family events it looks like he's failed miserably.

Elena seems to me to be a woman of good and strong character. I think she'll respect her brother's decisions when it comes to the Royal Family, (which she doesn't belong to anymore), but she'll do as she pleases when it comes to the Borbon family.
 
They are siblings. I don't think any Spaniard had a problem with Cristina showing up at family events eg like the funeral this week. Its her family too.
Cristina does not belong to the SRF any longer therefore we will not see her at official events anymore anyway - only if they are related to family.
Felipe is godfather to one of Cristina's sons, there will always been situations where they have to see each other and get along on a private level.
 
This gossip is copied from a website that writes the same thing every week, when it is not Sofia, it is Elena, who is angry about the treatment given to Cristina. They need to create controversial gossip for people to read their website, and repeat the same story over and over again.

It is probably true that in this story Cristina has abused the goodwill that have always shown Sofia and Elena.
 
No doubt Letizia will get the blame for all the family rifts!
 
Of course there is a tension. The Infanta Doña Cristina was found not guilty. The Public Prosecution already did not want to file a case because they had difficulties to build a coherent and lasting case which could stand in a trial.

In essence the Infanta Doña Cristina was procecuted on instigation of an ultra-left private anti-corruption accociation, "Clean Hands" but that organisation itself was caught up in a corruption scandal (...!...) and disbanded.

The prosecution called for the Infanta to reimburse advantages she enjoyed because of her husband's profits via his misdemeanours in the Noós case. That was it. When justice is spoken in the name of the King, by giving punishments abut also acquittals, then also the Infanta Doña Cristina should be rehabilitated.

But of course the King prefers to look the other way than to give justice to his sister.
:whistling:
 
She was declared innocent of a criminal offense. But she was declared civilly liable for taking advantage of the money her husband obtained illegally, and sentenced to pay a fine. That her crime does not have a prison sentence does not mean that she acted well.
 
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