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It's nothing new and rather civil in comparison, Felipe grew up during ETA terrorism and he once said in an interview that he always was aware that he could see his parents for the last time when they left for events in case their car got blown up.
So no, backing off is not an option.
 
I'm a little worried too but I agree that it would look worse if the family completely backed out of the event - because for the SRF it would show the rioting parties have won and that might give them a motive to become more violent or threatening to the family than they have been (and then something particularly bad could happen). I commend Leonor even more for being poised and confident during these events given that these are rather dangerous times for Catalonia.
 
I don't think Leonor has much choice in these matters. She will do as her parents tell her. We'll have to wait and see how it turns out tomorrow and on Tuesday.

Leonor never did these awards, so Felipe and Letizia could have continued doing them themselves but I guess they figured that would look bad given that Leonor did attend and speech at the Princess of Asturias Awards this year.
 
She's 14 now and needs to be seen in Spain, so far Spaniards know nothing about her.

It's about time, you can only trust somebody to lead the country someday you can identify with. Spanish monarchy has troubling sides as well Leonor needs to learn to cope with.
 
On the news I saw protesters in Catalonia in utter amazement: "What are they doing here? We do not want them here! Back off to Spain. This is our country!"


As if Catalonia is not Spain... In the brains of these separatists they have already said bye-bye to Spain.
 
 
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Grace under pressure. That is valor. Catalonia has always been one with Spain. I so admire the SRF for being there. A lesson for the young princesses, not everything will be easy.Excited to hear their speeches tomorrow. The princesses were also at the meeting!
 
How come the girls are not at school today? Is it some kind of holiday in Spain?
 
We can admire dresses but let us be fair: the Province of Girona has declared "their own" Princess of Girona as persona non grata (!). Reason to organize this Princess of Girona Award in Barcelona instead. This is not only an insult to Doña Leonor but also to the King, whom himself was a proud Pince of Asturias, of Girona, of Viana, Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera and Lord of Balaguer, for decades.
 
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Princess Leonor made a good speech and even spoke Catalan. It is being very well prepared.
 
Blog Real said:
Princess Leonor made a good speech and even spoke Catalan. It is being very well prepared.
Click to expand...




Could you provide a video link to her speech, especially the part where she is speaking Catalan ?
 
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Everybody is talking about Princess Leonor's perfect Catalan, that is how you make a statement, sure ?

She's getting more comfortable with each intervention and it shows.

Mbruno said:
Could you provide a video link to her speech, especiallyb the part where she is speaking Catalan ?
Click to expand...
This is the Catalan part of her speech, without the translator heard on RTVE videos:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1191436286227148801

I can't tell but it must have been good, there is a young man among the laureates who was sporting a yellow ribbon (the support to the independentist leaders in jail simbol) that didn't even applauded with the rest of the public when the RF entered the hall... But he is seen in the video applauding to Leo's Catalan :lol:
 
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There were quite vocal anti monarchist protests in Barcelona

 
Leonor did another impeccable job - it must have been quite a tiring day for both the girls, given the fact they had to change and get ready for the awards ceremony in the evening, but they carried it out in a very dignified and adult-like manner. Leonor speaking in Catalan and Arabic was also very impressive (any reasons why she spoke in Arabic?) - one can tell that both she and her sister Sofia are going to be fantastic assets to the SRF when they'll eventually have to become full-time working members of the family.

MJudith said:
How come the girls are not at school today? Is it some kind of holiday in Spain?
Click to expand...

I would think that making her debut in Catalonia as a princess/representing the country would be a perfectly fine excuse for missing a day off school! And their teachers can always watch the news if they didn't see the reason for Leonor and Sofia's absence :D
In all seriousness, though, the last holiday in Spain until Christmas on 23 December is All Saint's Day on November 1 where children got the day off. So it was a normal school day for Spanish children.
 
I think from now on there will be events that take precedence over school, there are things that Leonor will have to learn that cannot be taught in school.
I'd expect her to be fluent in Catalan given the development in Spain. Speaking their language will be a link to the people that cannot be denied.

And it's not difficult to achieve, given that many royal children are fluent in multiple languages it is a no brainer to have a private tutor/nanny/governess who will speak catalan/english etc with the girls from a very early stage. It's part of their role and would be careless not to pursue.
 
Yes and she has pursued it. And excelled at it by all accounts. So well done to her (y)
 
The speech of HRH The Princess of Asturias & Girona


 
What did Princess Leonor say that warranted the standing ovation? Was that when she spoke Catalan? What a poised young woman!
 
MJudith said:
How come the girls are not at school today? Is it some kind of holiday in Spain?
Click to expand...

No, it's not. The girls seem to be 'out of school' for these days to attend these meetings. It has of course been criticized in Spain - at least on social media.
 
HereditaryPrincess said:
Leonor did another impeccable job - it must have been quite a tiring day for both the girls, given the fact they had to change and get ready for the awards ceremony in the evening, but they carried it out in a very dignified and adult-like manner. Leonor speaking in Catalan and Arabic was also very impressive (any reasons why she spoke in Arabic?) - one can tell that both she and her sister Sofia are going to be fantastic assets to the SRF when they'll eventually have to become full-time working members of the family.
Click to expand...

Infanta Sofía is not expected to be a full-time working member of the royal family for life. Just like Elena and Cristina no longer carry out royal duties since their brother ascended the throne. So, it would be best to make sure that she starts with a 'different career' early on that she can somewhat combine with a limited amount of royal duties as long as her parents are king and queen. As soon as her sister becomes queen she is officially 'out'.
 
Princess Leonor & Infanta Sofia are showing that truly any method of introduction to royal life works. I remember how many were upset that both the Spain & Dutch royal families were overly protective of their children, saying that they might not adjust that well once the time come for them to take on some/more duties. Leonoar has truly showed that it is not the case. She has done so well each time she has had to make a public appareance (same for Sofia). I really applaud her parents upbringing, they truly knows their children best and prepared them accurately. So proud to see that she is on a multilingual path (and with good reason!!) I wished Prince William could do the same effort. After all, Canada is part of the Commonwealth so speaking French should really be the bare minimum...
 
The King himself speaks Catalan as well, and has held the same speeches in Catalan during his long tenure as Princípe de Girona. This did not bring him one centimeter closer to the Catalan separatists. So, any effort of Doña Leonor is nice, but her own father's example shows it will probably have little effect.
 
Duc_et_Pair said:
The King himself speaks Catalan as well, and has held the same speeches in Catalan during his long tenure as Princípe de Girona. This did not bring him one centimeter closer to the Catalan separatists. So, any effort of Doña Leonor is nice, but her own father's example shows it will probably have little effect.
Click to expand...

I think it is a requirement of Leonor to speak Catalan fluently, it's not a gesture of goodwill. Even when in the end it won't make a difference. I think that Leonor, like her father, will have some knowledge in Galego or Basque as well at some point.

I remember when Cristina got together with Inaki and lived with him in Barcelona, she started learning Catalan what made her very popular in Catalonia. I don't know to what extend she mastered the language and those were of course different times, but at the time it certainly helped the image of the royal house.
 
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Somebody said:
Infanta Sofía is not expected to be a full-time working member of the royal family for life. Just like Elena and Cristina no longer carry out royal duties since their brother ascended the throne. So, it would be best to make sure that she starts with a 'different career' early on that she can somewhat combine with a limited amount of royal duties as long as her parents are king and queen. As soon as her sister becomes queen she is officially 'out'.
Click to expand...

I agree. It seems unlikely that Infanta Sofía will ever be a full-time working member, as Infantas Elena and Cristina had jobs even while their father was the reigning king.
 
Nice to see Leonor and Sofia again today. They seem to be more at ease the more they participate in these sorts of engagements.
 
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