Letizia hit by press criticism again

Letizia will be pleased to put these holidays behind her.  It's been rumoured before that the Princess of Asturias doesn't enjoy the tradition royal family stay on Mallorca.  But this year's vacations, a whole four days of them, have been more arduous than normal for the journalist turned future queen and mostly because of the press.

 

Letizia hasn't been smiling as much this week after a pasting from the press which she tried, and failed, to contain

(photo LuisCarlos Diaz)

The media complained that she was nowhere to be seen for most of last week.  Her first public appearance was on Friday, along with the queen and the Infanta Elena, was labeled as too little, too late.  And then she pulled off her masterstroke and spent what seemed like days posing for photos with her husband and daughters in a farm in the heart of the area affected by forest fires.  Cue snaps of Leonor and Sofia learning all about rural life and their country's agricultural history while showing solidarity with people affected by an event that has destroyed land and cost money.  Everyone, including the princess, was happy. 

 

Letizia strikes back with an epic photocall that has filled magazines and newspapers across Spain in the last few days

It meant the heat was off Letizia at the annual royal dinner given for the authorities on the island.  All eyes were on how she would get on with her sister-in-law, Elena, but the two chatted pleasantly and gave the press the other photo they wanted.  Royal in laws almost liking one another.

 

A common taste in really bad choice of clothes for this evening event draws Elena and Letizia closer together

And then it all went wrong.  Letizia went back to Madrid with Elena on Wednesday.  The fact that the two women did anything together might be seen as a positive given the claims that they don't get on.  But the problem for the princess was that while she winged it back to Madrid, her husband and daughters stayed in Mallorca to spend more time with the King and Queen.  Sources close to the royal household confirmed that the princess was home alone while the prince and the little infantas were still in Mallorca so they could be with granny and granddad.  Suddenly, Letizia is back in the eye of the storm.

No sign of granddad in this photo - Letizia has been seen with the queen and her sister in law but has left the island while her husband and children enjoy more time with the King and his consort

 

Royal writers have, in recent years, pointed to a cool relationship between Letizia and her in laws and commented on the fact that her girls seem to spend less time with their paternal relations than would be expected.  So the fact that the royal household has confirmed that the princess has left Mallorca after less than a week's stay while her family remain there has raised more questions than answers.  Letizia has no public engagements this week and no known reason to be in the capital rather than in Marivent with Felipe.  And while anyone with in laws knows that however much or little you like them time with them can be hard, a palace on an island is surely enough space to avoid them in if you really can't hack any more of it.

There may be a perfectly simple explanation for why the future consort has left her prince on holiday and headed home.  But until it's made public, Letizia faces yet more criticism and with no more photocalls planned for the forseeable future, it's hard to see how she will win them over quickly on this one.