Well, well. Almost one week exactly after the Spanish Queen Drama, the two Spanish queens made an effort to pose together outside of La Moraleja Hospital on Saturday. On Easter Sunday (two weekends ago), Queen Letizia (the current queen of Spain) got into some kind of kerfuffle with her mother-in-law, former queen consort Sofia. The drama happened as the royal family was leaving the church and Queen Sofia stopped to pose for some photos (in the church) with her two granddaughters. Letizia blocked the photo and there was some kind of tense confrontation with both queens, as the two young princesses tried to disentangle themselves from Queen Sofia’s iron grip. The video of the confrontation/fight blew up in the Spanish media and beyond – it was even covered in the New York Times!
In the days that followed, sources tried to downplay what happened and sources insisted that Letizia was particularly desolate and pained by all the criticism. Well, here’s what they came up with: a casual photo-op as the two queens – plus King Felipe – exited the hospital where Felipe’s father King Juan Carlos had knee surgery. Felipe walked past his wife and his mother to address the media about his father’s condition (his dad is fine) and Letizia and Sofia seemed to hang back, giving photographers some good shots of the two queens smiling and looking okay with each other. I tend to think Letizia has the better “mask” – she can put on a diplomatic, let’s-all-get-along face better than her mother-in-law.
Felipe, Letizia and Sofia arrived in the same car and Letizia even made a point of walking to her mother-in-law’s car door and opening it for her. A sign of respect for one’s elders.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid and Getty.
How many pairs of buttons down the sides pants does Letiizia have?
And Sofia must be in amazing shape to be wearing those heels at age 79.
Grandma won. Nobody puts Grandma Queen Sophia is the corner in public.
Letizia lost. Next time just play nice in public.
Hope the crow Letizia had to swallow taste good. Lol
I’m enjoying part two of this so much. Lol
Wow, vindictive much? Why do you hate Letizia so vehemently?
I certainly am laughing. Opening her door! 😂
@Fremtilda LMFAO, right! Letizia looked like a complete B who isn’t mature enough to play nice in public, how ridiculous. I felt really bad that Grandma had her kisses wiped away and questioned how Letizia teachers her daughter to be “respectful” of their elders…*Eye Roll* And now she is opening doors? Hahahahahah 🙂 I’m happy Grandma won lololol!
🙂
Someone on Twitter showed a photo of Easter Day of Letizia and Felipe in the car leaving and Felipe is looking at Letizia, she is looking away, but the look on his face is priceless. The back of Letizia’s head is towards him, she is putting her head in the open window looking out towards the street.
Oh to be a fly on the wall..
I love corrective PR pictures. They are amusing on so many levels
God bless these royals. They really are quite amusing.
Not just these two: Grannies got her pic with the girls, too (they are in matching Burberry trenches).
On one hand, does anyone involved actually expect people to buy this? But on the other hand it’s kind of funny for us as casual observers just watching the drama playing out, with the forced smiling and the meaningless symbolic gestures. It’s almost quaint.
It’s amusing to think these ‘royals’ think people believe all this nonsense, let alone care. Why can’t these two women simply dislike each other and be done with it? If they don’t want fuss as per Easter, make sure they’re not seen together, have the buffer of the son/husband, or make an agreement about what’s permissible in public. In this instance, it appears that Granny tried to sneak in quick pics with the girls and got caught.
Yes . This has been such a entertaining Royal story. Loved reading about every second of it.
It has everything, two Queens, old, younger, heirs, Son present King, ailing old abdicated King father. Fashion too.
…and conflict, conflict conflict and PR machinations for public consumption. Loving it.
But they did not kiss.
It’s so fake and forced it’s funny to me lol.
I particularily liked the bit where Letizia opened Sofia’s car door. So respectful! 😂
Right! When I read that I was definitely LOLing. But seeing the pictures is even funnier. Are we supposed to believe the pictures.
In any case Letizia has a lot to do to clean up her image. The people of Spain mostly side with Sofia. They considered Letizia’s behavior disrespectful.
I still am thinking it wasn’t so much blocking as protecting, Letizia reminds me so much of a big cat protecting her cubs in that Easter footage.
That might have been her intention if you watch the video *multiple times* and pause to look at each frame. To really analyze it. But if you simply watch it once or twice like the average person, Queen Letizia looks rude and petty. She looked like she was stopping a grandma from taking a picture with her grandkids and to add insult to injury wiped beloved grandma’s kisses away from her daughters heads. The girls kept a natural happy smile the whole time and did not look like they were in distress. IMO that’s probably why a lot of blame is on Queen Letizia and why she went out of her way to show deference and kindness to Sophia.
Sophia doesn’t charm the cameras, she knows she came out looking like the wronged party.
I looked at the video several times, and Letizia comes off as rude, petty, and needlessly controlling, and Sofia comes off as stubborn, aggressive and needlessly defiant – at least until her son stepped in and put her in check, after he put Letizia in check.
I totally agree that Sofia does not need to charm the cameras, she is being treated like a queen, pardon the pun.
@Original T. C. I didn’t see the girls with their original happy smile at all, I saw two young ladies who had been taught very well how to maintain their mask, both inside and outside the church.
I also saw that they know how their mother, father, and their grandmother feel and are somewhat caught in the middle.
The girl who pulled her grandmother’s hand off is more outspoken. that took guts.
But that could also be me projecting, because I have worn that mask of smiles many times. And I had to smile, because otherwise I would cry.
Letizia lost on Easter PR wise , no way Letizia would do this if she came out looking good on Easter.
Grandma won , she got what she wanted. Grandma got her photos and Letizia had to eat crow , smile and take photos, in the end.
Letizia’s PR was horrible after this incident.
Queen Sophia taught a lesson to the younger Queen. Don’t mess w granny in public, it’s never good for PR.
…and Sophia needs to learn her place and how to live with the fact that she is no longer queen.
Seems like it would be hard for Sofia to learn her place if the current King and Queen treks to her island with their rarely seen daughters in tow for Easter service. Then when her husband is in the hospital, the King and Queen drive her to the hospital, the current Queen opens the door for her, then the next day they drive her to the hospital again, this time with the rarely seen daughters. Sofia emerges from the car and the Infantas swoop to her side to her side, then when it is time to leave they say their goodbyes in view of camera with the Infantas giving Sofia nice big good-bye hugs.
It seems like it would be hard for Sofia to accept the fact that she is no longer the Queen when they keep treating her like a Queen.
wrong place
Wow, Sofia’s hair is really lavender isn’t it. I didn’t think anyone still did the ‘blue rinse’ look.
That’s the first thing I saw too 🙂
Purple hair because she’s royal, donchaknow.
Lmfao
Ha ha, surprise. Also, a bonus to the staff person who had the idea of placing this photo op at a hospital. Good thinking, minion!
QL got slaughtered in the media over it and it became something that needed to be addressed from a PR PoV. QS has a resting b!tch face but seems to be enjoying this moment.
QS is a master manipulator who needs to retire from the public eye – she is no longer Queen of Spain, something that she seems unable to accept. She may not be Queen in name but she is determined to remain the people’s Queen, esp when the current Queen is unpopular with the Spanish media (who frankly make the UK tabs look tame – they turned on Leonore calling her a spoiled brat among other things).
What some people and the press have said about Leonor and Infanta Sofia is terrible. If I were Felipe I would be LIVID.
QS does not fool me for a second.
I agree with you. She comes off as a master manipulator. MIL, step back and enjoy your retirement.
Me either.
Same.
Yeah, I know her from a million miles away. Anyone who has ever been around someone like QS knows the routine. She needs to retire for her son’s and granddaughter’s sake. The fact that she doesn’t seem to get that speaks volumes.
Sofia is not the only one who doesn’t get it. There are others who don’t seem to get it either including her son and daughter-in-law. Perhaps the current King and Queen see value in the popular Queen Emeritus being moderately visible.
I kind of feel bad for QS. If she husband hadn’t shot that elephant, she would probably still be queen. She got fired for other’s indiscretions.
I agree 100%.
She doesn’t like handing over the role of Queen to anyone and will not let it go without a fight. For sure there will be further rounds to come
Sophia sounds like my mother in law…
Yep.
So just putting this out there … my spanish colleague said that in the spanish media they’re even saying that there are problems in Letizia and Felipe’s marriage over all of this …
I doubt it. Felipe is well aware of issues between Letizia and Sofia. And even if things are strained right now, they will not divorce. Felipe doesn’t need any additional scandals.
The Spanish media have been trying to break them up for years with stories like this, am sure they’ve had their issues that having his horrible family hasn’t helped but they won’t divorce, that will break the Spanish monarchy.
Felipe is NOT like his father, he in fact seems to go out of his why to prove he is the opposite.
QS is a nasty piece of work. She’s probably gloating over all of this. Felipe needs to put his foot down, support his wife, and sideline the former king and queen permanently.
+1000000
Totally.
Two Queens bees in one hive.
I think King Felipe, held a family emergency meeting. And told the two Queens, get their act together, hence this PR appearance, we will see who is the better actress.
It is totally evident that this is a pure Damage Control PR move. Fakest photo op ever and nobody is eating up that crap, at least in Spain.
You can almost hear the “Action”before they step out of the car. 🎥
Totally ,I’m seeing this wandering just how stupid do they think people are….
But hey,I’m looking at pics and commenting so that’s that I suppose
Yep, it’s totally, and obviously fake, but enormously entertaining for us! 😀
The two queen struggle has been there since dawn of time. The Last Tsarina of Russia had the same struggle. Regardless of who is at fault, and although it may be fake, they know they need to play nice in order to publicly survive. And yes, Sophia has resting bitch face and Letizia has a steel backbone. So glad we are covering royals outside Britain.
So true, @Seraphina! Empress Alexandra’s position was made more difficult by the fact that, legally, the Dowager Empress actually still outranked her. So the DE walked in first on the arm of the Emperor, while Alexandra walked in second, on the arm of a courtier. And Maria (the DE), was not very forthcoming with the jewels usually reserved for the use of the current empress.
Alix, I would not have a hard time with walking after my MIL, but those damn jewels better be mine!!!! 😉
Absolutely correct.👍👌
This story is as old as heels. The rumor was that Britain’s Queen Mother was’nt too happy to take step back to her daughter back then either.
Her official title was sure to emphasise that she too was queen in the clearest way – Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother.😉 #neverforgetme
They certainly portrayed it that way in The Crown, lol. The QM cheered herself up by buying that rundown castle in Scotland.
The fact both Juan Carlos and Sofia are still being addressed as His/Her Majesty King/Queen, is problematic AF.
You can’t have two living Kings at the same time. Two Queen Consorts is less problematic, though still not great.
The Netherlands is the only monarchy that seems to do abdications well, but they have practice since it is tradition to abdicate in favor of the next generation. After the monarch abdicates, they take a different title. Queen Beatrix became Princess Beatrix. But in Spain and Belgium the former monarch kept the King/Queen title.
ITA. That’s because the abdicating Monarch reverts back to their title at birth, giving way for the new Monarch and spouse.
Also, Beatrix and Máxima have always appeared to have a loving and warm relationship.
Totally agree there. And Princess Beatrix seems perfectly content letting Maxima shine as the Queen, which she most definitely does.
What else do you want them to be called though? Not only has everyone called them that since Juan Carlos was crowned king, it would be disrespectful to go from calling them “Su majestad” to simply “Señor” or “Señora” (Sir/Madam). They are still part of the royal family, they didn’t all of a sudden turn into civilians.
Even Pope Benedict who is no longer Pope goes by Pope Emeritus and will always be referred to as such. What was Queen Elizabeth’s mom referred to after her husband died? The Queen Mother. Not sure if that was her “official” title but there you go.
I lived in Spain when Juan Carlos and Sofia were still King and Queen and this was before Infanta Cristina’s husband Inaki Urdangarin was investigated for embezzlement. They were universally beloved back then and I thought Queen Sofia always came off as warm and friendly but I wasn’t paying much attention to the Spanish press. Letizia has RBF and always has. The most I ever heard about her was that she had an eating disorder because she was so skinny. As for this latest incident, I watched the video once and it came off as Letizia didn’t realize she was walking into the path of the shot Queen Sofia wanted with her granddaughters. I kind of find it to be much ado about nothing… but I honestly think the Spanish press will take any kind of excuse to go after Letizia.
They can be given a ducal title and Juan Carlos can revert back to being an Infante of Spain, and Sofia can acquire this title, too. I’m not saying they should become Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofia de Borbón.
If you can’t understand why it’s problematic for this Royal House to have two Kings and Queens…
No one acknowledges Benedict as Pope, though. No one prefers him, or gives him any deference, over Pope Francis, the actual Pope. The fact Juan Carlos, in all his shameful and corrupt dealings, keeps his title or deference and is still address as such, is ridiculous, and so it is for his wife, a FORMER Queen Consort.
It is problematic because the title of King historically always belongs to the monarch EXCLUSIVELY! – and Juan Carlos is no longer the monarch because he (and parts of his family) screwed up on such a massive scale that he had to abdicate. That’s why it is so problematic that he’s still addressed as king – because he’s not the king/monarch. It blurs the lines – both for the people and most likely also for the members of the SRF as well.
They really need to draw some very clear lines about both titles as well as the public role of the former king and queen. That’s why I think it is best that Juan Carlos and Sofia retire completely from public life, that they no longer use the titles king and queen, and if they still live in the royal residence of the monarch, then they need to move out. It may sound harsh but clear lines would make things easier.
The Spanish monarchy is vulnerable. Not just because of the recent scandals but also because restored monarchies very rarely last in the long term. The only restored monarchy that lasted more than a few decades is the British one – and I think that it being restored before the idea of democracy took root in European political philosophy played a big part.
Queen Sofia won this battle and it’s disgusting how people think just because she is elder, she deserves respect.
Hope all those people also respect Trump, Putin and the many other horrible elders in the world then. You know, because age apparently gives you immunity.
Queen Letizia is my second favourite Queen after the magnificent Queen Rania. Q Letizia hasn’t done anything yet to make me lose that respect. The more the media attacks with fake lies, the more I gain respect for women like Letizia. Just imagine the strength it takes to withstand all of that media attack and at the same time also accept that your loved ones haven’t and won’t do anything to stand by you.
thank you. elderly people are still capable of being awful. they’re still PEOPLE, they are adults, they’re not children. we don’t need to infantalize them. and if they’re major manipulators, they will really enjoy being able to act however rudely they want, knowing that someone will always excuse it away because they’re old.
100% agreed — we are way overdue to bust the centuries-old rule wherein “you must respect your elders” = “you must allow them to disrespect you.” Queen Sofia was quite possessive of her granddaughters’ bodies in that little video, and she’s been milking the respect-your-elders BS beyond measure here.
Before they were married, I loved it when Letizia responded to Felipe’s rude interruption of her and told him to let her finish, rather than deferring to a man in power. And her Easter clothing selection of pants instead of an Easter dress was a nice little push-back against the absurd rules and traditions for what’s “expected” (demanded) of women.
We’re well into the 21st century, and I appreciate it so much when I see women resisting a retrograde, patriarchal, often-toxic status quo in large and small ways.
All I notice in the top photo is that the younger one is standing pigeon toed. I’m ashamed of myself for noticing that straight away, but it’s all I see.
Maybe she is, it happens.
Well, Letizia probably had no choice but to do that whole door opening thing, since the Spanish pubic have been so ruthless to her.
And yeah, grommets on these pants. They match her purse. She must love that look!
Yep. Even if she didn’t want to do this, she has no choice. She will benefit more from this photo op than Sofia because majority of Spanish people and media outlets in Spain are Team Sofia on the Easter church drama.
Photo op aside, I hope both women are resolving their differences privately.
They are clearly trying to save face but it is useless at this point. These aren’t rumors coming from a Butler who got paid to talk, these are interactions caught on camera. No one needs a spin when the tape can be easily played.
I think they are all to blame and I feel bad for the daughters who are in the middle.
Layton,what you said is absolutely correct IMO
I watched a couple of videos several times. I saw Letty putting her daughter’s hair back behind her ears & the girl pulling it forward, twice. Sofia was also moving the hair from behind the ear. This was before the girl gave up the hair duel & pushed grandma’s hand back. Letitia should have stayed out of it, let granny have a quick pic with the granddaughters & it would have been over in a minute.
Lots of mothers try to control tweens’ hair position & move it away from faces. Many tweens focus on imaginary flaws, like protruding ears. Idk if this girl does, but her own moves with her hair show she didn’t want her hair behind her ears, where mommy did. Letty needs to lighten up.
This is a scandal Queen L created. What is the harm in allowing Sophia to have a public photograph with her granddaughters? I don’t understand the drama.
Well, if photos start in the church, then they’ll never get outside. Also, photos are far more appropriate outside of rather than in the church.
There was a videographer and a photographer in the church, they took pictures of the family when they were seated up front and as they walked through the church shaking hands.