A controversial smile

The second daughter of King Juan Carlos of Spain, Infanta Cristina, has appeared in court in Mallorca to answer questions in an investigation into financial irregularities.  The Infanta was driven to the court room door, with the judge's permission, so as to avoid the long walk past the hundreds of media who were gathered outside waiting for her to arrive.  But when she did get out of her car and take the final steps into the court building, her smile ended up causing some controversy.

The Infanta Cristina of Spain arrives at court in Mallorca - her smile trended on Twitter

Some commentators felt the look was too light hearted given the severity of the situation.  Some argued in the Infanta's defence, that she was trying to put a brave face while facing one of the most difficult days of her royal life.  Others said that the focus of today should be what was being discussed in a court room dominated by a photograph of the Infanta's father, King Juan Carlos.  The case was heard behind closed doors but there were reports from the courtroom that the Infanta appeared calm throughout the questioning and that she had continued to deny any knowledge of any wrongdoing.  

An audience of dozens inside and outside the court room awaited the Infanta Cristina as she arrived to answer questions in an investigation into financial wrongdoings

Photographers take over Spanish royals

The press who turned up to photograph the Spanish royal family at their annual dinner for the authorities in Mallorca may have had the biggest indication yet that Letizia is taking preparations for being queen very seriously indeed.  For while we're used to seeing consort Sofia in something resembling sophisticated pyjamas at the yearly celebration, the queen in waiting usually goes for something a bit sleeker and chicer.  Not this year.  Letizia's trouser suit may have been the most fitted of the three ladies on display last night but it was close enough to Sofia's annual uniform of choice to merit an entry in the pyjama game.

 

Ladies in lounge suits - Queen Sofia of Spain, the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Elena all took the trouser route for a summer supper in Mallorca on Tuesday evening

(photo Casa Real/ Borja)

 

The king was first through the door and remarked that there were more photographers than guests at this year's dinner.  The press has been hungry for snaps of the Spanish royals since they arrived in Mallorca and with the Prince of Asturias due to leave the island to be in Paraguay for the swearing in of the new president in around a week's time, the media are keen to know just how long the family will be together in Marivent.

 

The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, had a busy Tuesday - he spent part of the afternoon meeting local officials.  Here he greets Maria Salom Coll, president of the regional autonomous government in the island

 

For now, the press have their photos and already the Spanish magazines are filling their front pages with pictures of Infanta Leonor and her sister, Sofia, with mum Letizia in the background.  The future queen may get a lot of stick but she still sells.

 



Letizia photobombs her critics

The Princess of Asturias has taken a lot of criticism in the last few days for her noticeable absence on Mallorca where the Spanish royal family's annual big get together is now underway. A few moments with the snappers on Friday did little to quell the crossness at a lack of Letizia.  Her husband surprised many at the weekend by chatting to reporters after a prize giving ceremony at the local sailing club to answer questions on how long the family would be spending in Mallorca.  And then on Monday, Letizia gave her own answer with one of the longest photo sessions in the history of European royalty.

 

Felipe, Letizia, Leonor and Sofia at La Granja de Esporles on Monday

 

You want photos, I'll give you photos seemed to be the message from the princess.  The family wandered down country lanes, they looked at animals, they stood on bridges, they stopped at every opportunity and smiled and waved and smiled some more.  All in the easy to use early evening light of the holiday island.  Soft sunshine and sweetness all round.

 



 

Smile for the camera - the Asturias in another pose from their photo session

 

The farm they visited is in the heart of an area recently hit by a massive forest fire.  Last year they won some plaudits for posing in Soller and bringing tourism to that part of the island and this year the focus was on holiday highlights away from the coast.  La Granja de Esporles gave the infantas a chance to learn about rural life through the ages as well as pat some cute animals.

 

 

Horses, goats, sheep - a real life farmyard for the future queen of Spain and her sister to play in

 

And Letizia gave her critics what they wanted - endless shots of her and her family.  She's back in front of the cameras again this evening as she joins the prince and King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in the annual dinner for the authorities which ends the formal part of this annual royal holiday.  But this gush of photos might not be enough to hold off more attacks.  The press now want to know whether the princely couple and the children will be staying in Spain for the rest of their holidays or heading abroad.  And if the last few years are anything to go by, that's one question that neither Felipe or Letizia will be answering.

 

 

A bridge over troubled waters with the press - Letizia's photo offensive answers criticisms she's not been seen enough on Mallorca

 



Princesses practising being royal

Learning to wave is something that all children do fairly early on.  But when it's going to be one of the biggest parts of your entire life then a few more lessons on doing it well are needed.  Royal children wave a lot.  At first, tentatively and then, as they become more confident at doing it, almost absent mindedly.  Leonor and Sofia got a helping hand, quite literally, from dad on Monday when they gave a group wave along with the Prince of Asturias while on a visit to La Granja de Esporles in Mallorca.

 

Felipe leads the way, showing his infantas how to wave for the cameras

(photo Casa Real/ Borja)

 

Leonor looked most comfortable with the royal wave, Sofia a little more cautious but then she is eighteen months younger - if only a few centimetres shorter than the future queen.  Other future monarchs have had a bit of waving practice this year.  Europe's youngest heir to the throne, Catharina-Amalia, had the activity to a tee after a day of frantic waving on April 30th when her dad became the first king of the Netherlands for over 100 years. 

 

 

Catharina-Amalia, Princess of Orange, far left in this photo, gives her first wave as heir to the throne

 





There's an art to waving that comes in time.  We all know a good royal wave when we see one.  It has to have some movement but just enough to allow the hand to be visible rather than a blur whizzing past on its own timeframe.  Still but not static.  Elisabeth of Belgium as the oldest of the new generation of royals has had the most time to practice and her efforts on the da she became heiress to her country's throne shows that, as with most things, practice in the royal wave department really pays off.

 

 

A calm salute in the centre of the new royal family - Elisabeth, in red, on the day her father became King of the Belgians

 

It's an art you can never start too early and Princess Estelle of Sweden has come close to a few royal waves, throwing a flag around at  a sports event and doing a few nice lunges towards the many cameras that greet her on her public outings. 

 

 

Estelle of Sweden in a bit of a lean that could become a wave

 

But Prince George of Cambridge has to win the prize for earliest royal wave.  OK, we all know that the barely day old prince was just wiggling his fingers as he made his first appearance in mum's arms on the steps of St Mary's, Paddington on July 23rd 2013.  But it looked like a wave.  Those hands will be wiggling in the air for decades to come.  And just like Leonor and Sofia, he's got two very experienced royal wavers to show him just how it's done.

 

The future queen with her princesses in waiting

The Princess of Asturias has been criticized in recent days for arriving late in Mallorca with her daughters for the annual family holiday at Marivent.  She was first seen on Friday and today the Prince and Princess held another photocall with their daughters.

 

Letizia, Felipe and their daughters, Leonor and Sofia, in Mallorca on Monday August 5th 2013

The chances of the old style photo session of the whole royal family at Marivent is slim but the heir and his wife have now made a bit of a new custom of a walk on the island allowing photographers an opportunity to get a couple of snaps of the whole family together.  Felipe and Letizia will appear again tomorrow at the traditional evening meal the king hosts for the authorities and then the location of the rest of their summer holidays is a mystery. 

 

Letizia vs. the press

The arrival of the Princess of Asturias in Mallorca has given the magazines their big money shot for the summer.  It might not be up there with Letizia in a bikini from a few years ago or the first on the lips smacker she planted on hubby Felipe just before that (they're still the only royal couple of the 21st century not to actually semi snog on the balcony on their wedding day) but even the princess in a pair of slightly strange lime jeans and almost smiling is enough to shift magazines across Spain for the next week or so.

 

Letizia almost cracks a smile as she takes part in the annual Spanish royal family pose

  

And yet even this photo hasn't stopped criticism of the princess with a columnist this morning complaining that she's arrived as late as possible in Mallorca.  Others have complained about a lack of family photos of the Asturias - the prince was noticeable by his absence from yesterday's photocall.  And there are regular complaints that the former Miss Ortiz keeps her children too hidden from view with just a handful of sightings of the young infantas every year.

The last group shot of the Prince and Princess of Asturias with their daughters was at the end of March this year when the family went to Mass on Easter Sunday, again in Mallorca

(© Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos)

 

Letizia easily won most support in the recent poll asking which queen in waiting got the hardest time from the press.  She took half the votes with her nearest challenger being Kate of Cambridge with 27%.  But is Letizia really such a target and, if so, why? 

 

 

Sad or just thoughtful?  Another snap of Princess Letizia in Mallorca on Friday

 

There's no doubt the princess generates acres of press coverage.  Nearly every week her face stares out from the front of at least one of the big Spanish magazines and she's a mainstay for columnists and newspaper writers, especially at weekends when there is more space to fill.  A lot of interest is shown in what she wears, how she looks and whether she has had plastic surgery.  But how much of that interest is above and beyond what other princesses go through?

 

The photo, taken in 2008, that led to the Spanish royal household announcing Princess Letizia had had surgery on her nose to correct a breathing issue.  Since then there have been many rumours the princess has had more work on her face

 



Letizia is on a stickier wicket than several other princesses.  Spain's economy is in dire straits and unemployment remains at record highs, particularly among younger people.  Any spending by the royals is going to be scrutinized far more closely when the people who provide the funds through their taxes are finding things tight.  Letizia's love of fashion is praised by some for throwing the spotlight on Spanish designers and bringing more trade to the country, others say she spends far too much on expensive designers and dresses inappropriately for some formal occasions.

 

 

The outfit chosen by Letizia for a military event in Zaragoza in July 2013 drew criticisms that it was too informal for the occasion.  It's not the first time the princess has been attacked for her choice of clothes

 

But other princesses have their spending analysed - Kate's wardrobe bill was in the UK papers just a few months ago.  There have been raised eyebrows over clothes chosen by other royal ladies - Mathilde has been attacked for being too frumpy on occasions while Maxima's exuberant style isn't to everyone's taste.  Is it fair to say that Letizia is just being exposed to the same judgmental attitude that seems to come with the job of being a princess in the 21st century?

 

Letizia is also attacked for lacking an royal agenda of her own, nearly ten years after she became queen in waiting.  Many of the public appearances she makes are with her husband with a very small range of solo engagements.  She is known as a patron of cancer charities and has worked with children's organisations but in fairness her solo agenda is much smaller than that of many other European crown princesses.  Even Kate, now in her third year as a fully fledged royal, is seen out by herself more than the Spanish heiress.  Could a bit more independence help Letizia?

 

 

It's unusual to see Letizia on a formal appearance without Felipe by her side

 

But perhaps the biggest difference between Letizia and the other queens in waiting is the way she first appeared on the royal scene.  Letizia's engagement was a surprise.  There hadn't been any talk of a romance, let alone a marriage, with Felipe before the football results were interrupted on a Saturday evening in November 2003 for the formal announcement of their wedding.  And that meant the press didn't have a chance to dissect the future queen before she had the ring on her finger. 

 

 

Felipe and Letizia on their first public appearance after the surprise announcement of their engagement in November 2003

(photo 20minutos.es)

 

Every other royal bride was scrutinized in intense detail before her prince popped the question.  Mary of Denmark moved to her boyfriend's home country and went through almost three years of being analysed by the press before becoming engaged.  Maxima spent several years having her past, and that of her parents, raked over before saying 'I do'.  And such was the interest in Mette-Marit's past that the heat was still building in the situation with just weeks to go before the wedding.  But her decision to give a TV interview in which she cried as she talked about her youth burst the bubble of curiousity and her eleven years as a princess have been relatively plain sailing.  Kate had eight years of scrutiny before becoming a Windsor while Victoria of Sweden and Daniel had their relationship put to the test for pretty much the same amount of time before marrying. 

 

 

 



Felipe and Letizia join other European heirs and their consorts for a photo taken just before Willem-Alexander became King of the Netherlands.  The other couples all had their relationships in the press spotlight before marrying - Felipe and Letizia took the papers and their public by surprise

 

And that may be Letizia's biggest problem with the press.  By missing their chance to scrutinize her before her marriage, there are still lots of things to ask and talk about now that she is the wife of the heir to the throne.  Her divorce from her first husband, other relationships, how she met her prince and what keeps them talking...so many questions and no answers.  The princess has given very few interviews - there was a question and answer session after their engagement and some formal chats since but the press rely on off the cuff comments that can't be confirmed or denied and so rumours grow. 

 

 

 

An official portrait of the Prince and Princess of Asturias on their wedding day in May 2004.  Just a year before no one even linked them as a couple and it's still not clear now when exactly they got together. The mystery around their romance and relationship has led to frustrations in the press

 

So while some see Letizia as put upon and a victim of the press, others argue she has tried to control her image too much and in the process taken away the vitality and energy that marked her first appearances at the side of her prince.  There's no doubt that everything she does is analysed and criticized by some.  Whether she can win those critics over is another matter.



 

 





 

 







All smiles for Spanish royals on holiday

Another day, another holiday snap of royals on holiday.  It was the turn of the Spanish royal family today as Queen Consort Sofia got all her grandchildren together for a waterside photo call.  Also there were her eldest daughter, the Infanta Elena, and her daughter in law, the Princess of Asturias.

A queen with her family - it's not been the easiest year for the Spanish royals but Sofia has gathered her grandchildren together for the annual holiday in Mallorca

 

 

It's becoming increasingly rare to see all royals together and the chances of a photo like this including the Infanta Cristina are tiny.  And while the King and his heir are missing from the shot, they are on the island so there may yet be more royal holiday snaps to come.