Queen Sofia was counting the days until she could escape to London and attend Friday's Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle
For half a century she has been by his side, a quiet, dignified presence through turbulent decades. But now Spain is beginning to ask just how much more Queen Sofia can take. Against a backdrop of family financial scandal and an increasingly troubled marriage, Queen Sofia was counting the days until she could escape to London and attend Friday's Jubilee banquet at Windsor Castle – an eagerly anticipated family gathering. But 48 hours before she was due to leave she was prevented by the government from attending. Declining the invite on her behalf, the Spanish government cited the recent "heightened tensions" with Britain over the ownership of the island of Gibraltar, currently the scene of a row over fishing rights. The government's decision focused attention once again on the troubled life of the woman whom some are calling the loneliest royal consort in Europe. "She was really looking forward to it," said Pilar Eyre, whose book The Loneliness of the Queen has been top of the best seller list in Spain since it was published in January. "It was a huge blow for her to be stopped from attending."Born into the Greek Royal family, Queen Sofia was eagerly anticipating seeing her brother King Constantine - godfather to Prince William - and her many cousins. Given that it was a meeting of equals, protocol was forgotten – Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands even threw her arms around the British Queen in a warm greeting. Yesterday (SAT) Spanish newspaper El Mundo featured a huge picture of the 27 royals, with the headline: "The only absence was Cousin Sofia". The newspaper also pointed out that protocol would have probably seen Queen Sofia seated next to Queen Elizabeth, owing to their close family ties. "It was to be a real treat for her to see her family, get dressed up and also relax with friends who live similar lifestyles," said Ms Eyre. "But now she has to return to her role of supporting the King in silence, and just keep her head down. She is suffering a huge amount." The Queen's resigned acceptance of her duty - her inability to carve her own path – is a poignant reminder of how isolated and powerless she really is. Where as her husband King Juan Carlos is known for speaking his mind, the Queen has no voice. Unlike her British equivalent Prince Philip, Queen Sofia is frequently sidelined and simply told what to do. And her sadness at being told to shun the family gathering must have been all the more painful, given her recent marital problems. Monday was the King and Queen's 50th wedding anniversary. Needless to say, they did not celebrate the occasion. "It would have been a bit ironic," said Jaime Peñafiel, one of Spain's most influential royal commentators. "There's nothing to celebrate." King Juan Carlos tripped on a hunting trip to Botswana last month, breaking his hip and triggering a furious reaction back in Spain. What was the King doing waltzing around the world shooting elephants, the people asked, while they were in the midst of an economic crisis? That the King was accompanied on the trip by a glamorous blonde German princess raised even more eyebrows at home. Did the Queen know he was on a "private holiday" with a woman almost 30 years his junior? The Queen has kept her dignity throughout the scandal. On Thursday evening at their home, the Zarzuela Palace, she presented awards for contribution to the arts to opera singer Placido Domingo and film director Pablo Almodovar, among others looking strained, perhaps, but composed. The King was also present; it was the first time the couple had been seen together in public since Easter. Yet the publication the next day of an in-dept portrait of the German princess who accompanied her husband to Botswana must have infuriated the 73-year-old. Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, 46, features on the cover of this month's Spanish edition of Vanity Fair magazine, described as "the mysterious friend of the King". Yesterday newspaper sellers in Madrid said the magazine was flying off the shelves. Miss zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a twice-divorced German businesswoman who reportedly acted as an adviser to the King, was said to be "shocked" at the attention, and to have fled to Monaco. "Who wouldn't be if suddenly the world's press appeared at your door, attacking you and accusing you of being the King's lover?" said her first husband, Philip Adkins, an American shipping magnate, in the magazine. "The only thing she told me was that the King was her friend, and an amazing man who she admired. Nothing else, because if there is one thing that characterises her it is discretion and loyalty." She has vehemently denied being romantically involved with the King, and has instructed her lawyers to pursue anyone who claims otherwise. But that she and the King had a meeting of minds is not in doubt. Miss zu Sayn-Wittgenstein worked for the prestigious London-based hunting company Boss & Co, and organised adventures in Mozambique, a shooting party at Blenheim Palace, and visits to Saudi Arabia for the King. Cap Lesesne, a high-society plastic surgeon based on Park Avenue in New York, said: "She's a wonderful woman: intelligent, attractive, fun. She's the perfect date." But the King has now been forced to distance himself from the German princess. "The King knew that he couldn't be seen as frivolous in these tough economic times," said Pilar Eyre, columnist for El Mundo and author of eight books on the Spanish royal family. "All his life has been about sacrifice and the preservation of the reputation of the monarchy. Everything else comes second." And the King's dedication to the throne is unquestionable. He acceded to the throne in 1975 two days after the death of General Franco and oversaw the transition from dictatorship to democracy. The Spanish people appreciate his no-nonsense manner, and remember how the he thwarted an attempted military coup in 1981, when he made a televised broadcast calling on people to respect democracy. Spain's royal couple are, however, now coming under unprecedented scrutiny, along with their three children the heir to the throne, Felipe, 44; Infanta Elena, 48; and Infanta Cristina, 46. Infanta Cristina's husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, has been declared a suspect in a fraud case involving millions of euros of public money and appeared in court in February; the first royal family member ever to do so. The case has driven a stake right through the heart of the family, with the King furious about the scandal – Mr Urdangarin denies all charges - and the Queen only interested in comforting her daughter, Mr Urdangarin's wife. In a further public relations mishap, in early April the King's grandson, 13-year-old Felipe Juan Froilan, was himself taken to hospital after shooting himself in the foot during target practice outside the family home, despite being too young legally to use such a weapon. The Queen, who studied childcare in Athens and has stated that her priority is looking after her children, has been horrified by the mess which has engulfed her family. But unlike the King, she is powerless to act. The King realised that the luxury Botswana hunting trip at a time of soaring unemployment and economic unrest was causing yet more controversy, and made an unprecedented apology. "I'm very sorry, I made a mistake. It won't happen again," he said, as he left San Jose hospital in Madrid at the end of April. It was the first time he had ever apologised for his actions. Royal expert Jaime Peñafiel said: "He took the decision to apologise no one asked him to. He runs his own show." The King's strong personal management of the situation only serves to heighten the contrast with his wife. Ms Eyre spent two years researching her biography of the Queen, and says the quietly elegant grandmother has few real friends in Spain. Inside the Zarzuela Palace, there is open rivalry between the King's "team" and the Queen's ladies in waiting. As a vegetarian who dislikes bullfighting and rarely speaks in public owing to her heavily-accented Spanish, she could not be more different from her red blooded, straight talking husband, with his passion for fast cars, sailing and skiing. "It was a marriage of convenience," she said. "They have been living separate lives for a long time. "But it is fair to say that, in a long and unhappy history, this is a particularly painful moment."
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