Relationships between Members of the Spanish Royal Family


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In public and videos I've seen they seem respectful children.

Yes, completely agree.

Regardless of what happened now, both Leonor and Sofia have always behaved impeccably in public so far.
 
Thanks for the clarification. I agree that they seem very respectful in the public eye - from a very early age. I, however, don't attribute that to maturity but to being docile (Leonor slightly more so than Sofia).

A little more 'character' coming through would be nice :flowers:

I agree. Well lets just hope Leonor does not become rebellious because the monarchy in Spain is as fragile as it is right now.
 
MC made a huge mistake by that comment for it will backfire on her given time. She would of been better off leaving the situation alone between Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia.

Exactly how do you see it backfiring on the Crown Princess, pray tell?

If anything, her comments added credence to the supposition already held by many that Letizia has tried to distance her children and husband from his family and parents, especially his mother, when the latter was the only major family figure to support his union.

For better or worse, Letizia is the one who is getting slaughtered in the press over this.
 
They all live at Zarzuela, right? Surely it's big enough so that they don't bump into each other all the time.

Juan Carlos and Sofia live in the main palace while Felipe and Letizia live in a smaller residence on the palace grounds, if I'm not mistaken.
 
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The Crown Princess of Greece hardly "blabbed her opinion in a tweet." Marie-Chantal is the spouse of the heir to King Constantine II, and has been a member of the Greek royal family for far longer than Queen Letizia has been a member of the Spanish royal house. The Royal House of Greece is much more family minded than some other families, and they close ranks when a member is attacked (hence the personal support for Infanta Cristina and her children), so it should come as no surprise that Marie-Chantal reacted the way she did to seeing her aunt treated in such a fashion. The Crown Princess herself is a devoted mother, wife, and daughter; further, she has always treated her parents-in-law, the King and Queen Anne-Marie, with the utmost respect. I find the criticisms of her here to be most misplaced. She *obviously* has witnessed the internal dynamics of the family behind the scenes, she knows what has transpired.

I think you might be onto something here, after all none of us have truly interacted with either Sofia or Letizia and MC has, so... :ermm:
 
That is PRECISELY what the 'Crown Princess' of the DEPOSED Throne of the Hellenes did !

About an incident she wasn't there to witness, about people to whom she is [fairly remotely] connected to by marriage.
Whatever her feelings toward the Queen of Spain, had she learned ANYTHING in the course of her time as a 'royal' it is that discretion and privacy is PARAMOUNT.
Her 'Tweet' shows her to be every bit as lacking in class as many have LONG thought her do be..

Not sure how this can be 'fairly remotely' connected. In that case, only parents and children and siblings are a 'close connection'? We are talking about her aunt and first cousin; moreover, the mother and wife of one of her husband's best friends.
 
Your comment made me laugh, first of all MC does not even know the meaning of being a crown princess, nor has she ever worked at being such......all MC has done in life is *marry an empty title*, it means nothing to anyone for there is NO country that they rule or even work for.

To me, the entire Greek royal family is a sham......they do nothing for the people of Greece what so ever.........MC is all about her picture and mouth in the media circus, her money and her life style and not a woman of substance to be looked up to by her very actions over time. Yes MC married what is called *well* and the heritage is Greek and that is all it is. It is all play acting that MC does for the attention and to benefit other royals not more of any substance.

Entire Greek royal family is quite a statement. The king was the king of Greek for several years. His wife their queen. They moved back to Greece. Their second son and wife are actively promoting Greece... (also living in Greece). The crown prince and crown princess don't do either but let's not generalize their actions to that of the whole family.
 
Does the SRF have a Whatsapp group? I would love to check it right now.
 
If the only 'proof' of her domineering personality is Letizia touching her daughters, I'm not convinced.

Of course, not. While nobody here could speak about the dynamics between husband and wife, I think it is pretty clear from Letizia's demeanor in public that she has a very assertive character at the very least.
 
If William and Kate can be used as a reference, it will hopefully remain that way.

PDA has no place in royal circles. Every gesture can be misunderstood.

I was thinking more about Harry and Meghan, but I don't want to go OT! Just to clarify.
 
Yes, Pavlos and Marie Chantal, those who placed Felipe in a very difficult position as a King and exposed him to criticism from the Spaniards because they decided that Cristina and Iñaki were more important. :whistling:

From the beginning, the Greek Royal Family has taken a stand in support of Cristina and Iñaki, probably influenced by the blind attitude of Sofia herself.

So it's not strange that Letizia feels uncomfortable with them.

The situation is very different with the Bourbon Two Sicilias family, much closer than the Greeks and that living in Spain know the situation well. They privately support Cristina, but they maintain a very good relationship with Felipe and Letizia and are loyal to the King and what he represents.
 
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leonor and infanta sofia showed they have more class than their mother and acted as if nothing happened in front of the cameras. one does not wash their dirty laundry in public, less so when you are the queen of spain. the girls have clearly understood that. it would seem letizia's commoner past does not let her properly understand that concept. she is acting like a childish, spoilt brat.

in the first video on the link below, it is very clear letizia was standing in the way of sofia and the girls, and moved around to prevent any pictures from taking place to the point she had to be told off by felipe.

El origen de la mala relación entre la Reina Letizia y Doña Sofía | Casa Real

although i have to disagree queen sofia is treating the girls like puppets. yes, she pulls them in towards her when the press/crowd asks for a picture. "noblesse oblige": queen sofia understands very well that most of the role of the royal family is to make appearances such as this one and pose for the cameras and look as if they were a happy family (which maybe they aren't). letizia seems not to have understood some of those concepts.

the body language in that video is precious. letizia taking refuge in fixing leonor's hair, leonor trying to get both womens' hands off her (seemingly in an aim to please both of them, or simply having had enough of being in the middle of this quarrel), queen sofia pulling the girls close to her, infanta sofia smiling 'just for the show'. i feel sorry for leonor and sofia. they are clearly very well behaved, but being raised by such a strict, manipulative mother is cruel. like other posters said before me, i am hoping they get their own voice soon.

it should come as no surprise that Marie-Chantal reacted the way she did to seeing her aunt treated in such a fashion. The Crown Princess herself is a devoted mother, wife, and daughter; further, she has always treated her parents-in-law, the King and Queen Anne-Marie, with the utmost respect. I find the criticisms of her here to be most misplaced. She *obviously* has witnessed the internal dynamics of the family behind the scenes, she knows what has transpired.

indeed. marie-chantal is the perfect element in this situation for us as she knows the family members well whilst at the same time her monarchy is defunct and she is wealthy enough to not care about what others / the press say about her. so her comments are gold in this, as someone with direct access to these people who knows well the ins and outs but less subject to the rules.
 
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Exactly how do you see it backfiring on the Crown Princess, pray tell?

If anything, her comments added credence to the supposition already held by many that Letizia has tried to distance her children and husband from his family and parents, especially his mother, when the latter was the only major family figure to support his union.

For better or worse, Letizia is the one who is getting slaughtered in the press over this.

If I was in Queen Letizia position I also would distance myself from members of the family that were going to jail for stealing and now being labeled a criminal. Her in/laws in reading not just here but elsewhere over years have not given her a break in her marriage even though QS did at first support her. So QL is tough as nails and stands her ground for after all her daughter will be queen someday and no one in their right mind will support her if she is know to associate with criminals, Her uncle comes to mind. So QL is protective of her children and is that a crime, heck no, that what mothers for for their children.

Being slaughtered in the press is what...narrow minded unformed people that jump that bandwagon all to have a say in something I bet they know very little about for most of the public want the easy way out, read the headline and be done with it.

How will this backfire on MC, just maybe some in the royal circles will she her for what she is.....a non working involved positive person for the country that she thinks she is crown princess of.....bet most Greeks don't even know who she is......I will give Queen Sofia credit for she put up with a lot of **** from her husband and not had a great life as a happy married woman yet she needs to back off the throne for it is not her territory any longer, there are 2 other people now in charge as it should be.

I think once being a King or Queen it must be very hard to retire from that stage of life for there everything is at your finger tips in the way of power, money and position along with title....being retired might mean for some that the lime light no longer shine on you and what you do. I see why some in royal families will never abdicate yet those that do might have interest to pursue elsewhere that gives them pleasure such as Prince Philip who loves his carriage riding......while other do nothing with their retired time except live off the land of others like former King Juan Carlos.
 
leonor and infanta sofia showed they have more class than their mother and acted as if nothing happened in front of the cameras. one does not wash their dirty laundry in public, less so when you are the queen of spain. the girls have clearly understood that. it would seem letizia's commoner past does not let her properly understand that concept. she is acting like a childish, spoilt brat.

in the first video on the link below, it is very clear letizia was standing in the way of sofia and the girls, and moved around to prevent any pictures from taking place to the point she had to be told off by felipe.

El origen de la mala relación entre la Reina Letizia y Doña Sofía | Casa Real

although i have to disagree queen sofia is treating the girls like puppets. yes, she pulls them in towards her when the press/crowd asks for a picture. queen sofia understands very well that most of the role of the royal family is to make appearances such as this one and pose for the cameras and look as if they were a happy family (which maybe they aren't). letizia seems not to have understood some of those concepts.

the body language in that video is precious. letizia taking refuge in fixing leonor's hair, leonor trying to get both womens' hands off her (seemingly in an aim to please both of them, or simply having had enough of being in the middle of this quarrel), queen sofia pulling the girls close to her, infanta sofia smiling 'just for the show'. i feel sorry for leonor and sofia. they are clearly very well behaved, but being raised by such a strict, manipulative mother is cruel. like other posters said before me, i am hoping they get their own voice soon.



indeed. marie-chantal is the perfect element in this situation for us as she knows the family members well whilst at the same time her monarchy is defunct and she is wealthy enough to not care about what others / the press say about her. so her comments are gold in this, as someone with direct access to these people who knows well the ins and outs but less subject to the rules.

100% agree with this
 
If I was in Queen Letizia position I also would distance myself from members of the family that were going to jail for stealing and now being labeled a criminal. [...] So QL is tough as nails and stands her ground for after all her daughter will be queen someday and no one in their right mind will support her if she is know to associate with criminals, Her uncle comes to mind. So QL is protective of her children and is that a crime, heck no, that what mothers for for their children.

If it is like you say, and she wants to distance herself, though, why attending events together? I don't think Easter Mass is a "must" event.
Once she does attend an event with her in-laws (even if she didn't want to) she should behave appropriately. I don't think most of us here are questioning QL's alleged reasons for disliking Queen Sofia, I think we're saying that you don't wash your dirty laundry in public and certainly not in front of your two vulnerable (given their age and experience) daughters.
 
Carlota, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's Queen Sofía who asks the official photographer of the Royal House for the photo... a photo for her private album. The press photographers were outside the cathedral several meters away and on one side. So it is not an act of magnanimous and exemplary queen.

Marie Chantal has shown no discretion, and that is a very important quality to move in royal circles ... Today has been Letizia the victim, but on another occasion can be any other royal.
 
Carlota, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's Queen Sofía who asks the official photographer of the Royal House for the photo... a photo for her private album. The press photographers were outside the cathedral several meters away and on one side. So it is not an act of magnanimous and exemplary queen.

Marie Chantal has shown no discretion, and that is a very important quality to move in royal circles ... Today has been Letizia the victim, but on another occasion can be any other royal.

Sorry, but this is pure speculation. You can't really see it from the video because you don't see the photographer who may have just gestured toward her with his camera to "request" a photo-op. But even if what you say is true, where is the crime? Why couldn't a grandmother desire a picture with her two grand-daughters on Easter day for her private album? Magnanimity has nothing to do with it. What I disliked of QS is the way she pulled Sofia jr. away to take the photo while she was greeting members of the public and how she locked Leonor's neck while she was standing her ground...that was I admit not very regal.

I absolutely agree, though, on your assessment of MC.
 
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Carlota, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's Queen Sofía who asks the official photographer of the Royal House for the photo... a photo for her private album. The press photographers were outside the cathedral several meters away and on one side. So it is not an act of magnanimous and exemplary queen.

you don't disappoint me at all. the purpose of the picture is irrelevant. letizia's attitude and irrespectfulness towards sofia in a public setting (and, oh the irony, during easter!) is all that is relevant.

and clearly i am not the only one who thinks so (sofia winning in this poll by far on who the public stands by):

¿De parte de quién estás en la polémica de la Familia Real? | loc/casa-real

[poor sofia who was letizia's only supporter of her when felipe wanted to engage with her. queen sofia must be regretting the day she stood by her.]
 
Wait, if the photo was meant to be for Queen Siofia’s private album as some posters have claimed, why was Letizia concerned at all ? There was no underlying threat of public exposure of her daughters’ image. Maybe there was some misunderstanding on Letizia’s part. Otherwise, there is no way to interpret it other than Letizia being plainly mean to her mother-in-law.
 
Well, they have to pose somewhere, not sure what Mallorca has to do with it. If they don't pose in Palma anymore, where do they pose?



Monarchy is not only 'work', you do your events and leave and have your private life, you have to somehow show yourself in 'fluff' events, connect with the people and yes, please the media because they play they role as well in promoting the happy family image. I know Letizia stands for the 'serious' journalism, only controlled appearances and events with depth but this is not how the world works and she won't be able to protect her daughters from real life out there.



We only see the family at Easter in Palma, in Palma again in the summer, on National Day and on a Christmas Card, please correct me if I forgot an event, if you scrap Palma what remains? If 'silly' posing is out of the question, the concept of the monarchy is not the right tool for this family.



I completely agree with you. Some might consider what Sofía did with her granddaughters wrong or inappropriate, but what is the other function of attending a mass with people and photographers waiting for them outside? Not showing yourself as a happy and united family?

Uniting the country, supporting charities and representing the country abroad is the most important roles of the monarchy, but if we want to be honest, today, the most important thing for royals is for them to be stylish, smile, wave and shake hands with people, pose for pictures and show a United and happy family.

I have never really liked Letizia. And i have never read any Spanish royal magazines or news. So I can say that my opinion is mostly my own observations over the years. Letizia doesn’t seem to love her role, she doesn’t represent a lovable queen or royalty. Seems distance to me. Sometimes chooses outfits that are questionable. And she keeps her children away from the public. I know that the girls deserve a normal life, but come on, they will Never have a normal life in the future, so it’s so much better to prepare them for their future live NOW.

What exactly has Letizia done publicly to win the hearts of the people?

Also, some commenters mentioned that the former queen still wants to be the number one. This isn’t the Russian Romanov imperial court. Nobody listens to the orders of the current Queen. Sofía might not be the current queen, but she is still the matriarch of the family.
 
If it is like you say, and she wants to distance herself, though, why attending events together? I don't think Easter Mass is a "must" event.
Once she does attend an event with her in-laws (even if she didn't want to) she should behave appropriately. I don't think most of us here are questioning QL's alleged reasons for disliking Queen Sofia, I think we're saying that you don't wash your dirty laundry in public and certainly not in front of your two vulnerable (given their age and experience) daughters.

People here are saying that Queen Letizia had and does distance herself and her children from the rest of the family, I have never seen that for over the years there are dozens of pictures where QL has put forth herself and her children with members of the family. It has I believe started when the situation with Christina and her husband and money that some distance has occurred and it should be for you do not want to associate with anyone that is going to be or has been convicted of crimes when you become the head of the royal family and the very people at the top. It would not look good for the people if you kept those relationship for then it might just come back to haunt you and the throne can and would be taken away for good.

I do not place blame on just QL for this, there are 2 women involved and both should be held accountable for their behavior yet QL is the mother of those girls and she has first say in everything that goes on in their lives, any mother out there would have done worse then what QL did, mothers can and are fierce when their children are concerned regardless of the situation. I saw QS arm pulling Lenore tight, did anyone think that perhaps that QS did not realize she was gripping to tight on her....not one person here thought or mentioned that that I am aware of. I think it is something that QS reacted badly to as did QL react badly to......all because Lenore pushed her grandmother's hand away........hell you put your arm around my throat I will bit you big time if it hurts and the heck who is around...........maybe this is the whole problem here and some are blowing so far out to left field that all kinds of stories are being made and blame is being passed around on the escape goat..Queen Letizia as it has in the past.......bet that brick wall is higher then ever now.........
 
I completely agree with you. Some might consider what Sofía did with her granddaughters wrong or inappropriate, but what is the other function of attending a mass with people and photographers waiting for them outside? Not showing yourself as a happy and united family?

Uniting the country, supporting charities and representing the country abroad is the most important roles of the monarchy, but if we want to be honest, today, the most important thing for royals is for them to be stylish, smile, wave and shake hands with people, pose for pictures and show a United and happy family.

I have never really liked Letizia. And i have never read any Spanish royal magazines or news. So I can say that my opinion is mostly my own observations over the years. Letizia doesn’t seem to love her role, she doesn’t represent a lovable queen or royalty. Seems distance to me. Sometimes chooses outfits that are questionable. And she keeps her children away from the public. I know that the girls deserve a normal life, but come on, they will Never have a normal life in the future, so it’s so much better to prepare them for their future live NOW.

What exactly has Letizia done publicly to win the hearts of the people?

Also, some commenters mentioned that the former queen still wants to be the number one. This isn’t the Russian Romanov imperial court. Nobody listens to the orders of the current Queen. Sofía might not be the current queen, but she is still the matriarch of the family.

Nothing, she's not even trying to do so.
 
I completely agree with you. Some might consider what Sofía did with her granddaughters wrong or inappropriate, but what is the other function of attending a mass with people and photographers waiting for them outside? Not showing yourself as a happy and united family?

Uniting the country, supporting charities and representing the country abroad is the most important roles of the monarchy, but if we want to be honest, today, the most important thing for royals is for them to be stylish, smile, wave and shake hands with people, pose for pictures and show a United and happy family.

I have never really liked Letizia. And i have never read any Spanish royal magazines or news. So I can say that my opinion is mostly my own observations over the years. Letizia doesn’t seem to love her role, she doesn’t represent a lovable queen or royalty. Seems distance to me. Sometimes chooses outfits that are questionable. And she keeps her children away from the public. I know that the girls deserve a normal life, but come on, they will Never have a normal life in the future, so it’s so much better to prepare them for their future live NOW.

What exactly has Letizia done publicly to win the hearts of the people?

Also, some commenters mentioned that the former queen still wants to be the number one. This isn’t the Russian Romanov imperial court. Nobody listens to the orders of the current Queen. Sofía might not be the current queen, but she is still the matriarch of the family.

I always thought Letizia was a hardworking Queen from the many articles I have read on the Daily Mail. Am I wrong? Also, why is she distant and doesn't represent a lovable Queen/royalty? Does she just likes the title and perks of her position?
 
I always thought Letizia was a hardworking Queen from the many articles I have read on the Daily Mail. Am I wrong? Also, why is she distant and doesn't represent a lovable Queen/royalty? Does she just likes the title and perks of her position?

Queen Letizia is a hard worker. But she is an ambitious person, close to people, controlling and cold.
 
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I always thought Letizia was a hardworking Queen from the many articles I have read on the Daily Mail. Am I wrong? Also, why is she distant and doesn't represent a lovable Queen/royalty? Does she just likes the title and perks of her position?

Yes.
I think she would have been happier staying as a TV anchor than becoming a Queen but ambition was stronger than anything else. :cool:
 
I find the comments about Letizia reverting to her commoner roots interesting, and I will not say whether I agree or disagree with that sentiment.

However my opinion is that Marie Chantal ,she of the nouveau rich background and defunct Royal title, is displaying her "true colors" every bit as the woman she is sniping about on social media. Why not vent privately? Can anyone picture Mathilde of Belgium laying out her family's dirty laundry in this way?

And oh my yes. ...there's LOTS of dirty laundry in the Belgian RF to be aired but the Belgians are fortunate to have a king who chose wisely and well when selecting a consort.

With MC's unfortunate tweet she puts herself level with Kim Kardashian imo.
 
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