Red lips, red shoes

Red lipstick needs care.  And it's rarely seen on royals.  Perhaps because it needs so much care.  If you're going to be standing in a really brightly lit place with lots of people taking photos of you while using bright flashes then red lipstick really needs care.  A lesson that Princess Letizia has just learned on her visit to America.

 

The Princess of Asturias goes for glam on her visit to America

 

The princess can pull off quite a few looks.   And in some photos, red lips and red shoes is one of them.  But in others, she doesn't.  And after a month of outfits that have kept her away from controversy, Letizia is back causing a stir with her image.

 

 

Red lips, red shoes, red earrings.  Letizia is on trend and on her way to another row about her image as she tours Florida and California with Prince Felipe

 

And that is Letizia's biggest problem at the moment.  The monarchy her husband will one day run is in serious trouble and anything that allows the slightest bit of criticism is another blow at a time when the crown needs metaphorical hugs all round.  As soon as the princess' clothes become the story again, the long road back to stability becomes just that little bit longer again.  While the focus is on royal duties, it becomes shorter.  They may be thousands of miles from home, but what this king and queen in waiting get up to is still vital for the throne that will one day be theirs to guide into the future.

 

 

The clothes do the talking but do they take too much attention away from the heavy workload that faces Spain's royals as they try to restore their image?