An apparent Easter spat between Queen Letizia and Queen Sofia has caught fire and generated more family bickering.
King Felipe, Queen Letizia, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia attended Easter services over the weekend with Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia.
Videos have been circulating online showing Queen Letizia attempting to block her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia, from posing with photographers alone with her granddaughters, Infanta Sofia and Princess Leonor.
Queen Letizia, who tries to manage her daughters’ public appearances, apparently only wanted one photo of the entire family outside the church, as is custom.
Still, media outlets and critics are repeating claims of the Queen’s bad temper and strained relations with her mother-in-law.
As if all that wasn’t tough enough, Greek Princess Marie-Chantal — wife of Queen Sofia’s nephew — weighed in on social media.
Marie-Chantal criticized Queen Letizia’s actions and said Her Majesty had shown her “true colours.”
Prince Pavlos and Princess Marie-Chantal.
Whatever many European royals feel about Queen Letizia, they are also not likely to take well a princess in exile openly criticizing a reigning queen.
Media outlets often cite sources saying Queen Letizia doesn’t get along with Queen Sofia’s extended family, but they also talk about Queen Letizia’s efforts to encourage an active and exemplary monarchy in Spain. Marie-Chantal, an heiress, is known for her lavish lifestyle.
Don Juan, King Felipe’s grandfather and King Juan Carlos’ father, never got to reign over Spain. Still, he used the title of Count of Barcelona, which is generally attached to Spanish monarchs.
Events leading to the Spanish Civil War forced his abdication along with Queen Victoria Eugenie. He remained in exile for much of his life but died in Spain in 1993.
National Archives of the Netherlands
After King Juan Carlos succeeded dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, he held a ceremony at Zarzuela Palace for his father, Juan, to officially renounce his claim to the throne.
Infanta Cristina
A significant occurrence at the event was that Infanta Cristina, King Felipe’s sister, attended the services.
Infanta Cristina with Infanta Elena as photographed by the magazine ¡Hola! several years ago.
She has kept a distance from other members of the Royal Family and King’s Family amid controversy surrounding her husband’s business dealings.
Critics and supporters both said Queen Letizia took part of today’s strike among women in Spain.
Because Her Majesty did not have any public events, they assumed that was the case. And they said it showed a contrast to Queen Sofia, her mother in law, who was out in public today.
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau confronted King Felipe during a dinner yesterday to welcome this year’s Mobile World Congress in the city.
The mayor refused to formally welcome the King because she sees him as supporting police action against last year’s illegal referendum on Catalan independence. She told him so this week.
King Felipe with Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau to the right and Spanish Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria to the left.
The King, according to sources and media outlets, responded that his role was to support the Spanish Constitution and the Catalan statute of autonomy.
Several Catalan leaders boycotted King Felipe’s visit to the region today for the start of this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The Mayor of Barcelona, the head of the parliament and other officials want the King to apologize for apparently supporting the government’s efforts against separatists.
King Felipe attended a dinner at the famed Palace of the Arts in Barcelona. Many Catalan leaders say he should have spoken last year against police actions against an illegal referendum on independence. Don Felipe instead spoke in defense of the constitution and Spanish unity.
This evening the King spoke in Spanish, Catalan and English. “I am delighted to give you all the warmest welcome to Spain, to Catalonia and particularly to the truly global city of Barcelona and today the World Mobile Capital,” he said.
Last week King Felipe and Queen Letizia visited a contemporary art fair in Madrid, which was mired in controversy after organizers took down a piece describing jailed separatists as political prisoners.
LOS BORBONES 