The Royal Family of Spain, Current Events Part 21: December 2010 - October 2012

[dazzling]

This could all be just a press thing, quite surprising that nobody will be attending, if the King, Queen, Crown prince couple are busy, there is always Elena & Christina to go. It would be quite rude if nobody made an appearance, so my guess is that someone will be attending and this would be confirmed last minute.

If the King as mentioned above is making wrong decisions than maybe he shouldn't be making them, it will only make the family look bad.

 

[An Ard Ri]

Not going would be completely out of protocol they usually follow. SRF members usually attend weddings of Head of State royals, heirs to the throne or friend/family royals.

I still dont believe that they are not going since Albert/Grimaldis are both, Head of State royal & friendly related. The fact that he is "only" a Prince is an excuse I cant follow. JC and Rainier had great relations, so did Sofia & Grace.

If that is the reason then its just plain rude & very snobby of the powers that be at Zarzuela .Monaco is a Mediterranean neighbour of Spain & both families have enjoyed a good relationship over the years.That would be more or less saying The SRF are too good to attend,I hope thats not the reason.

Also the lack of any clarifacation from the Palace is mind boggling,I'm sure Prince Albert II would like to know his final numbers .What ever is going on at the Zarzuela Palace is very,very odd these days.

 

[An Ard Ri]

This could all be just a press thing, quite surprising that nobody will be attending, if the King, Queen, Crown prince couple are busy, there is always Elena & Christina to go. It would be quite rude if nobody made an appearance, so my guess is that someone will be attending and this would be confirmed last minute.

If the King as mentioned above is making wrong decisions than maybe he shouldn't be making them, it will only make the family look bad.

If nobody attends it will start all sorts of fresh rumours & to be honest the Royal Family will only have themselves to blame.

We had a similar episode at Easter when it was announced that the King won't be going to Palma de Mallorca for the annual break.Then at the last minute it was announced that The Queen,Prince/Princess & The Infantas would be going.

After that the internet was full of rumours about the King's health & he wondered why?

Even if the Palace sends someone & announces it at the last minute its very rude & the height of bad manners. Had they decided last week that no one was going & announced it the fuss would be more or less over!

 

[KittyAtlanta]

If the Spainards haven't responded yet, I hope they don't go. I'm sure there would be room for them even if they responded positively the day before, but the discourtesy would be palatible.

 

[lula]

A thing is what writes the press ... their intuitions, speculations, ideas ... and other one is the official information. And on certain topics the press speculates very much, and does not have patience, they want the information when they are interested in it, and sometimes the topics are not closed and the Royal House cannot give it so they invent or copy. Today the press is a disaster of information, the majority with little common sense.

 

[An Ard Ri]

If the Spainards haven't responded yet, I hope they don't go. I'm sure there would be room for them even if they responded positively the day before, but the discourtesy would be palatible.

I'm still hoping that they'll send someone,if they don't & give some lame excuse I'll never bother with them again!

 

[Livia]

They only invited the King, there are not invitations for the Queen or The Princes of Asturias. And the King will go if he can, but I doubt it, his knee surgery is very recent and he doesn't attend to any wedding.


You can read here, but it's in spanish.

 

[An Ard Ri]

They only invited the King, there are not invitations for the Queen or The Princes of Asturias. And the King will go if he can, but I doubt it, his knee surgery is very recent and he doesn't attend to any wedding.


You can read here, but it's in spanish.

Was that confirmed by the Palace?

Why would Prince Albert only invite the King & not the Queen but yet invite most of the Swedish & Belgian Royal Families?

I'm not buy this 'they only invited The King' story,sounds like the powers that be at Zarzuela Palace have lost the plot!

 

[LadyFinn]

They only invited the King, there are not invitations for the Queen or The Princes of Asturias. And the King will go if he can, but I doubt it, his knee surgery is very recent and he doesn't attend to any wedding.


You can read here, but it's in spanish.

That can´t be true, they must have invited also the queen. Queen Silvia and queen Paola are attending. It sounds ridiculous that from some country they had invited only the king without his wife.

 

[An Ard Ri]

That can´t be true, they must have invited also the queen. Queen Silvia and queen Paola are attending. It sounds ridiculous that from some country they had invited only the king without his wife.

I agree but if this is whats being used as an excuse its quite a poor one,I doubt anyone will believe it.

 

[Livia]

I agree but if this is whats being used as an excuse its quite a poor one,I doubt anyone will believe it.

I know, I am really surprised because I believed Prince Felipe and Prince Albert are very good friends, but they only invited the King because he is the head of the State, I don't know why they didn't invite Queen Sofía, but the invitation they sent to SRF was addressed exclusively to the King. It's weird.

I hope all of this is a desinformation and at least the Princes could attend to the wedding, or even only Queen Sofia.

 

[donnaK]

I don't think the Spanish RF got an invitation different from others. Perhaps the invitation is general to the royal house, it's up to the King to decide who he is going to send. If JC decides to send the whole family like the Swedish RF or the Belgian RF, I doubt Albert will have any issue with it. He must have a reason not to send anyone, the reason is definitely not the one in the media.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Now the media is speculating that JC wants to steal the thunder in Monaco and appear himself rising like a phoenix from the ashes after all his health problems
El Rey da marcha atrs y podra aparecer por sorpresa en la boda de Alberto de Mnaco

 

[Charlotte_Aster]

I seriously doubt that JC is that kind of a diva lol

 

[lula]

The "phoenix" would have to appear before, because Hillary Clinton has just announced official visit to Spain on Friday and Saturday.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The "phoenix" would have to appear before, because Hillary Clinton has just announced official visit to Spain on Friday and Saturday.

She does, but the royals are not mentioned as yet in her schedule
Secretary Clinton To Travel to Madrid, Spain

 

[lula]

She does, but the royals are not mentioned as yet in her schedule
Secretary Clinton To Travel to Madrid, Spain

A Secretary of State of the United States does not visit Spain and does not visit Zarzuela, the King is still recovering and without official public activity, but sooner or later, with or without media, they will announce a meeting.

 

[Carminha Stalker]

I agree with Lula. The press loves to make up insinuations when they don´t have all their facts as they wish. Only today I was reading in a newspaper that according to a French paper and Bunte, Charlene had tried to flee Monaco but was convinced to stay on.Apparently she had found out (after 5 years?) unsavory stuff about Albert´s past. So, if you´re gonna believe this, is the wedding still on?

 

[Renata4711]

The French paper was "L'Express" - normally a well-regarded paper. It apologised to the Prince via Thierry Lacoste, his lawyer.

 

[madeleine victoria]

Well, I just hope they will attend since it's a royal wedding. If no Felipe & Letizia, perhaps one of the Infantas can attend. I love to see royal gatherings!

 

[donnaK]

Zarzuela said (in an article from Elmundo) that JC had called Albert and explained to him that he couldn't make it to the wedding because of his slow recovery from the recent knee surgery. So Felipe isn't going because his father had accepted the invitation himself, father and son normally don't attend the event abroad together.
JC and Rainier were buddies, maybe JC saw Albert like a nephew, thus decided to attend the wedding himself. Too bad he couldn't make it.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Zarzuela said (in an article from Elmundo) that JC had called Albert and explained to him that he couldn't make it to the wedding because of his slow recovery from the recent knee surgery. So Felipe isn't going because his father had accepted the invitation himself, father and son normally don't attend the event abroad together.
JC and Rainier were buddies, maybe JC saw Albert like a nephew, thus decided to attend the wedding himself. Too bad he couldn't make it.

How credible is that? Even if JC was superfit I wouldnt have believed in a million years that he would have gone himself.
JC not going is no explaination at all that nobody is going. We've had the situation countless times before.

 

[donnaK]

How credible is that? Even if JC was superfit I wouldnt have believed in a million years that he would have gone himself.
JC not going is no explaination at all that nobody is going. We've had the situation countless times before.

JC did confirm his attendance (the following link). Infantas might be on trips with their kids since the school year is just over. Felipe has already made a commitment to sail in Valencia to honor his navy instructor. Sofia ? Don't know her plan. JC did attend Rainier's funeral alone without Sofia.
http://www.palais.mc/monaco/root/ba..._of_High_Dignitaries_FINAL_PROTOCOL_ORDER.pdf

 

[grevinnan]

I wonder why only the King of Spain was invited when the whole swedish royal family is there? The story does not make sense.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

JC did confirm his attendance (the following link). Infantas might be on trips with their kids since the school year is just over. Felipe has already made a commitment to sail in Valencia to honor his navy instructor. Sofia ? Don't know her plan. JC did attend Rainier's funeral alone without Sofia.
http://www.palais.mc/monaco/root/ba..._of_High_Dignitaries_FINAL_PROTOCOL_ORDER.pdf

It is strange and not a good style. If JC wanted family members to represent him (many dignitaries are being represented, so no problem from Alberts side) he could have send plenty (Sofia, Princes, Infantas (daughters, sisters), all are well related, and it wouldnt matter if they had private plans or not. Instead, JC wants the SRF to deliberately miss this event, well, he will have his reasons to do so. A very rude and bizzare decision, it doesnt put the SRF or JC into a good light, not at all.

I dont believe the knee surgery to be a reason in any way, even though it is being used as excuse.
Now the schedule has changed anyway, JC will meet with Hillary Clinton on Saturday.

 

[Alondra]

It is strange and not a good style. If JC wanted family members to represent him (many dignitaries are being represented, so no problem from Alberts side) he could have send plenty (Sofia, Princes, Infantas (daughters, sisters), all are well related, and it wouldnt matter if they had private plans or not. Instead, JC wants the SRF to deliberately miss this event, well, he will have his reasons to do so. A very rude and bizzare decision, it doesnt put the SRF or JC into a good light, not at all.

I dont believe the knee surgery to be a reason in any way, even though it is being used as excuse.
Now the schedule has changed anyway, JC will meet with Hillary Clinton on Saturday.

Actually Yague from La Voz Libre gives a reasonable explanation - JC planned to attend the Monaco's wedding. As it's well known already he never attends overseas weddings as they are always princes/princesses ones. Albert however is Monaco's Head of State and JC felt obliged to attend. The Asturias family had, accordingly made their own plans and in accordance with the Spanish protocol, it's not up to them to represent the Spanish Royal Family at a Head of the State Wedding anyway - that's the King's responsibility.

Queen Sofia has attended overseas weddings without JC but they've always been family or close friends (like Britain, Denmark or Sweden). This is not the case with Monaco - they may had been close in the past, but most of it dissapeared with Rainier and Princess Grace gone.

It is still possible that JC can make a cameo appearance at the wedding but the news that he is meeting H Clinton on Saturday makes me doubt it. I think someone from the SRF will be there. Who? Who knows.

Frankly, in the big scheme of things, a wedding in Monaco is not a top priority in Spain.


La rodilla del Rey y Hillary Clinton, ¿excusas para faltar a la boda de Mónaco?

 

[lula]

King Juan Carlos appears in the guests' dossier, so he had confirmed officially his assistance, and the slow recovery of the knee surgery and Clinton's visit has prevented finally that he was travelling. The king did not go to a royal wedding (other than family) for years, so his intention to go it is a sign of respect to the Prince Albert.

The rest of the family, without plans of going, had other plans ... in addition there would be necessary to organize the trips, the accommodation, the wardrobe, Monaco would have to change the protocol of the guests because the order would change (with hundreds of authorities and guests, last-minute changes are a serious problem).

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Not attending is rude & narrow minded.

Los desplantes de los Borbones a la familia Grimaldi

Although in Spanish media the "Olympiagate" is given as the root of the relations gone cold, usually personal issues do not play any part when protocol comes into play, it is very unusual to perform an open snub like this one.

When F&L got married in 2004, not only Albert attended but also Caroline & EA (who got so drunk the night before that he missed the church wedding).

And for the SRF to say we dont attend a "circus wedding" for image reasons in the current economic climate is a joke, the SRF should take a deep breath and a long look at themselves and bring their house in order, before being snobbish to others.

 

[Alondra]

I wouldn't be quoting Vaniatis. If we are speaking of rude, disgusting and plain awful, those are the adjectives that can apply to this website. They're the true exponent of yellow press - when they don't know what to write, they invent it.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

The rest of the family, without plans of going, had other plans ... in addition there would be necessary to organize the trips, the accommodation, the wardrobe, Monaco would have to change the protocol of the guests because the order would change (with hundreds of authorities and guests, last-minute changes are a serious problem).

That is a lame excuse ... it was clear the the King wouldnt be fit because of the knee surgery for weeks, its not that he broke his leg overnight or something.

If the rest of the family had other plans so what? Fact is if JC wanted other SRF members there, they would have gone, even last minute, they are used to change their schedule and Albert would have accommodated his. But he doesnt want any SRF members there, and the reason is not the knee surgery or Hillary Clinton visiting