Apparent tensions within Spain’s royal family have been thrust into the spotlight after a video camera caught a strained moment between Queen Letizia and her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia.
However, Queen Letizia - the wife of King Felipe and mother to the princesses - then appeared to block the shot, leading to a terse exchange between the pair. A concerned-looking King Felipe then intervened, taking his wife by the arm.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Moments later, the family posed together for photographs, royal countenances firmly in place.
Friction with the in-laws is hardly an uncommon feature of married life, but the high-profile nature of the participants set tongues chattering.
The footage was widely discussed in the Spanish media, with leading newspaper El Pais “calling the scene ‘tense’ and the Diario de Mallorca describing it as “uncomfortable”, The New York Times reports.
Other European royals even weighed in on Twitter. Princess Marie Chantal of Greece, who is married to King Felipe's cousin, Crown Prince Pavlos, tweeted that the snub had shown Queen Letizia’s “true colours”.
Seeking to explain the encounter, the Spanish press claims that relations between the two queens have been strained in recent years.
The queen mother “had taken Letizia Ortiz under her wing when her engagement to then-Prince Felipe was announced” in 2003, says the BBC, quoting from El Pais, but the relationship soured after the birth of the couple’s daughters.
Queen Sofia reportedly felt excluded from the family after the birth of her granddaughters, particularly in comparison to Queen Letizia’s mother, Paloma Rocasolano.
-
What to know before turning to AI for financial advicethe explainer It can help you crunch the numbers — but it might also pocket your data
-
Book reviews: 'The Headache: The Science of a Most Confounding Affliction—and a Search for Relief' and 'Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run'Feature The search for a headache cure and revisiting Springsteen's 'Born to Run' album on its 50th anniversary
-
Keith McNally' 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
