Alisa said:
I think the difference with Letizia is, that there has never been any sort of individuality with her (except for her speech a few weeks ago). There is nothing "wrong" with being part of a "team" or a couple working together; but in the same fashion that the heir also does his/her own agenda, the same can be done for the spouse. From the beginning Princess Mathilde started working and having her own agenda. In addition to being a part of the "team" with her husband, Mathilde is also very much an individual, she has had many solo visits both at home and abroad and has made many speeches as well. In the visit to India Mathilde and Phillippe each had their own agenda, in addition to the events they attended together. Thus, there was no tagging along.
Firstly, it's not fair to compare the Belgian royal house's way of doing things and the Spanish way of doing things. How many times can this be said???
So what if Mathilde had her own agenda from the very beginning? So what if Mary had her own agenda after a few months?
Secondly, Mathilde did not take on trips abroad alone less than a year after becoming a Crown Princess. It has been just barely a year since Letizia joined the royal house so to expect her to go on a trip alone already is a very high expectation, no matter how obviously competent and capable Letizia is. Now with her pregnancy and the expected down time after she has given birth, surely there will be some time before she takes on her own agenda or trips abroad by herself.
Thirdly, consider how many trips abroad Letizia has taken abroad with Felipe. Surely that is more trips abroad then Mary, Maxima, Mathilde and Mette-Marit did with their husbands within the first year of their marriages.
I would never consider what Letizia has done so far in
accompanying Felipe on his engagements as
tagging along. If that's how you classify it then you can say that Mary was
tagging along when she went to Greenland with Frederik or to the Farose Islands recently with Margrethe, Henrik and Frederik. Just because Letizia isn't making a speech doesn't mean that she isn't improving relations between the Spanish household and a certain organization or Spain's relations with another country. You don't have to make a speech to be contributing. Your presence is sometimes enough or what you offer in your conversations with people at such engagements can further enhance your understanding of a situation that can propel relations or make situations easier for people.
And one if going to compare princesses and criticize how the Spanish royal household does things versus other royal households, consider how much easier and more effective Letizia's communication with whomever she meets as she's
tagging along with Felipe than say Mary's communication when she is with Frederik or by herself, or how Maxima's communication was at the beginning of her Crown Princessly days. Niether Mary nor Maxima spoke Danish or Dutch fluently and likely stumbled or struggled now and then. Letizia, as someone who did not have to learn a new language, is much more capable of discussing complex issues, politics and history with the people she meets in the native language than Mary is now or Maxima in the beginning.
