The Spanish royals visit a socio-educational center in Palma. Princess Leonor is asked a question that nobody should have expected.
Queen Letizia, 47, King Felipe, 52, Princess Leonor, 14, and Princess Sofia, 13, are actually on vacation. As so often, they spend this on Mallorca. With the Marivent Palace, the family has their own domicile on the island. The royal duty does not rest entirely despite the holidays and so on Tuesday (August 11th) the royals visited a socio-educational center called "Naüm" in Son Roca, one of the most disadvantaged areas of Palma. The center is committed to the social inclusion of young people and is currently offering a summer school.
Queen Letizia: She prefers to answer this question to Princess Leonor herself
Some of the children and teenagers took the opportunity to talk to the king, queen and princesses. As the website "Vanitatis" reports, a girl asked Princess Leonor, who will one day succeed Felipe to the throne, a special question: "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The answer came quickly and unequivocally – and not from Leonor, but from her mom Letizia. "Not what she wants, what she has to". The message is clear: anything other than being queen is out of the question for Leonor.
Why the Spanish Queen speaks instead of her daughter
Letizia's intervention may seem a bit harsh, but it should have been out of care for her daughter and the monarchy. The 44-year-old is a media professional enough to know that the question to Leonor was a sensitive one. Any response from her daughter that wasn't "I want to be queen" would likely have become headline news. Especially now that Felipe's father, Juan Carlos, 82, has gone into exile because of corruption investigations, and the royal couple and their children have to shine even brighter than usual. A future queen who would rather choose another profession would possibly be unwanted opponents of the monarchy Provide a boost.
That's Letizia as a mother
The judgment of the Spanish journalist and Letizia critic Jaime Peñafiel, 88, would probably be harder. Speaking of Letizia's behavior as a mother in May on Spanish Mother's Day, he said: "Letizia is an overly controlling mother – I'm not saying manipulative because that's a very derogatory word. I think girls should be allowed as children to grow up, which they are too. "
Source used: vanitatis.elconfidencial.com
This article originally appeared on Gala.de.