Mary and Letizia: the run up to royalty

Ten years ago today was the last time that Mary Elizabeth Donaldson could really appreciate life outside the royal bubble.  She'd been seeing Crown Prince Frederik for three years and everyone in Denmark knew that on October 8th 2003, the royal household would confirm that the heir to the throne had chosen his future queen.  And that consort was Mary.  But while life had been very different for Miss Donaldson for months before that major announcement, she was into the twenty four hour countdown before everything changed forever.

Mary of Denmark.  A decade ago today was her last day of ordinary life before a royal destiny beckoned

 

That last day was no doubt taken up with checking outfits, making sure the ring fitted and going through the epic day of events planned for the engagement announcement.  But it also gave Mary the last chance she will ever have to hide from the royal spotlight.  That's not to say that her life had been anonymous until then.  She had hit the headlines as Frederik's partner towards the end of 2001, around a year after the couple began their relationship.  And for a large part of the time between coming into royal view and coming officially into the royal fold, Mary lived in that strange twilight world of being public property without any chance to defend herself and without anyone to really bat away intrusive press.

Like many a royal girlfriend before and after her, Mary found herself prone to press intrusion without anyone really handling her PR for her

 

While we all know that royal press officers have a discreet word with media that go a bit far when it comes to charting the progress of royal romances, there is no impetus for them to do this. Their job is to protect and promote the image of a royal family, of an ancient institution in a modern world and a royal romantic interest being snapped in a supermarket isn't going to be up there with affairs of state unless it intrudes on the reputation of the royals themselves.  As Mary came closer and closer to the royal orbit, first moving to Paris and then to Copenhagen, the protection she was offered grew.

 

One of the occasions when Mary benefitted from royal press officers - the publicized and very public appearance at a friend's wedding that allowed the young couple to be seen in public together as their relationship became more serious

None of that was ever an issue for Letizia.  The surprise of her engagement to the Prince of Asturias meant there was never a waiting period for the couple where she became tabloid fodder and he would have to stand by and let it happen.  There was no chance for her fellow journalists to start examining her past life in detail before she became a member of the royal household with all the protection that that afforded.  By the time everyone knew the name of the future queen, she had royal press officers in place to take questions and following up on rumours and whispers about her past life meant conversations with a formidable PR machine that was ready for anything.  The run up to royalty was short and sweet for Letizia - but has she been paying for it ever since?

Letizia of Spain - her life before her marriage to Felipe is the subject of much speculation but with no official comment whatsoever

The future queen of Spain is still the most mysterious of all the consorts in waiting across Europe.  Everyone could understand why Felipe didn't want the kind of public courtship he had been through in previous relationships.  The prince had seen two serious courtships fall by the wayside because of the massive press coverage and stresses that brought.  Keeping the woman he wanted to marry a secret might have seemed, to him, the only way to ensure his personal happiness.

 

Felipe and Letizia at the Prince of Asturias awards, the only image of the two of them together before the announcement of their engagement.  Was the prince concerned that he might never hear wedding bells if he allowed another relationship into the public domain before getting engaged?

But ultimately, those few years as tabloid fodder without a royal representative to bat away the bad stuff might have served Mary better than the silence that surrounded Letizia on her road to royalty.  Everyone wants a chance to gossip about royals in waiting and getting it out of the way before the glories of a wedding and little princes and princesses arriving is usually the most successful way.  The boil is lanced and while there might be a few months of chat they are forgotten when there are stories to write about wedding dresses, maternity wear and what the babies will be called.  Letizia's story is still waiting to be told.  And while that may have ensured that she and her handsome prince could bypass the questions that hit his other serious relationships, it also means that those early days when the press can go to town can be seen as an itch that still needs scratching.  Mary might not have appreciated that as she waited, a decade ago, to be admitted to the royal fold but she may well be glad of it now.