FEATURE
www.theolivepress.es
the olive press - October 30 - November 13 2013
Prince Felipe First in line to the throne, Prince Felipe was once the most eligible bachelor in Europe and played up to his playboy image with a succession of stunning girlfriends. Born in Madrid, he studied history at university in America (a rare academic royal) and became a professional sailor, flying the flag for Spain at the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. His marriage to Letizia, a
divorced TV newsreader, in May 2004, surprised many and broke the mould among the royals in Spain. They have since had two daughters and marriage seemed to have calmed his wilder ways and began to prepare him well for his future role. But that was until some recent cracks started to appear in his marriage this summer, when his wife returned to Madrid alone, leaving her family in Mallorca. Some say it came amid rum o u r s he has followed in his father’s footsteps and is having affairs, oth-
Duchess of Palma
Princess Cristina, the youngest daughter of the King and Queen, is currently involved in a high profile financial scandal which has gravely, some would say mortally, damaged the monarchy. A vivacious and outgoing young woman who studied in New York, the fairy tale seemed complete when Cristina married the tall and handsome Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin in 1997. With their four children and luxurious mansion in Barcelona Cristina lived a priviledged live. All that began to unravel however, when her husband was implicated in the Noos case, in which he is alleged to have embezzled public funds to the tune of several million euros. Many in the media and the public believe that as a board member of the Noos Institut, Cristina herself must have had some idea of what Urdangarin was up to, and even that she
was complicit in the crimes. So far, Cristina has narrowly avoided being indicted in the case, however this could still change. To escape the glare of the media Cristina and the her four children recently moved into a luxurious, aristocratic six-room penthouse in Switzerland. The rent of the home, paid by La Caixa Foundation, is over €7,000 per month. Her four children attend the exclusive Ecole Internationale de la Route de Chêne, which costs a r o u n d €30,000 a year. Although Cristina earned an image as a modern princess when she started working for the Caixa foundation in 1993, the Duchess of Palma and her husband are, not unsurprisingly, the most unpopular royals at present.
Princess Letizia
Once seen as a breathe of fresh air down the dusty aristocratic halls of Moncloa Palace, Princess Letizia, 40, is another royal to have cone under close public scrutiny in the past few months. The prensa rosa (tabloid TV and magazines) is full of reports about plastic surgery treatments, and she raised eyebrows this summer when she left husband Prince Felipe and her daughters on the traditional royal holiday in
ers say she was merely outraged over the situation regarding her sister-inlaw Cristina and her husband Inaki currently embroiled in the biggest scandal to have hit the royal f a m ily for decades.
Duchess of Alba
Inaki Urdangarin comes from a wealthy, although not aristocratic, family in the Basque country, but has lived for most of his life in Barcelona. A professional sportsman, Urdangarin played handball for FC Barcelona as well as representing Spain at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics, winning two bronze medals and captaining the side in 2000. He met Princess Cristina at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and the couple were married the following year. After his retirement in 2000, Urdangarin set up the Noos Institute, a non-profit making body, with partner Diego Torres. It became well known around the country, but the wheels came off spectacularly in 2011 when the Duke was accused of diverting public funds for his own benefit in the ‘Palma Arena’ case. It is alleged that he persuaded various Spanish public administrations (mostly regional governments) to sign agreements with his company for both work that
No look at Spanish nobility would be complete without a mention of the Duchess of Alba. With over 40 official titles, she is recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as having more titles recognised by an existing government than any other noble in the world. Indeed it is often said the British Queen has to curtsey to her when they meet. A colourful figure, The 87-yearold married her 61-year-old toyboy a few years ago and is the darling of Spains’ gossip columns. The party loving Duchess has a fortune estimated at £3billion and is said to be able to cross Spain from north to south without leaving her estates. She counts Tom Cruise among her friends and an Olive Press source recently claimed she had lunch with Brad Pitt in Casares last month. Oh and she is the only Spanish royal to give an interview to a British newspaper. Yes, you guessed it, the Olive Press three years ago, in which she told of her love of London and British manners.
was never done and work that was dramatically overbudgeted. Much of this money went to tax havens including Belize and the Isle of Man. The Duke has been indicted for misappropriation of public funds, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud and falsification of official documents. Unsurprisingly Urdangarin has become a persona non grata at family gatherings as the King sought to distance himself from the suggestion that he knew of, or even supported, his son-in-law’s activities. “Justice is the same for everyone” Juan Carlos said in his 2011 Christmas message, and the biography of the Duke has been removed from the Royal Household’s website. Urdangarin, who maintains his innocence, has already been questioned by a judge several times, and the case seems set to rumble on in 2014.
pany to make a land purchase raised eyebrows, especially as it came at a time of tense relations between Spain and Gibraltar. A foundation that Dona Pilar is honorary president of Nuevo Futoro, also hit the headlines recently when it emerged that Isabelita Peron, first wife of Argentinean dictator General Peron, had made a substantial donation.
Duchess of Medina Sidonia One classic aistocratic soap opera involves the feuding Dukes of Medina Sidonia. The controversial late Duchess of Medina Sidonia, known as the ‘Red Duchess’ due to her left wing views, kept her decades-long lesbian relationship with her secretary a secret. Long a defender of the poor, and opponent of the dictator General Franco, she married Liliane Dahlmann in a civil ceremony on her deathbed to stop her children inheriting the family’s palace and taking control of its precious collection of medieval documents and archives. The family has been in
Mallorca, flying back to Madrid as she wanted time on her own. “She is nervous, worried, uptight and intense.” recently claimed one royal observer, adding that the only time she lets her hair down is when she is with her Madrid girl friends Las Chicas - who she was spotted with at Benicassim Music Festival earlier this year. Brought up by a journalist father in Navarra, she forged a career as a newsreader w i t h Spanish national television before marrying a teacher Alfonso
Duke of Palma
Pilar de Borbon It’s not just the younger royals who can get caught out by their financial affairs. During the Malaya case last month it emerged that Pilar de Borbon, elder sister of Spain’s King Juan Carlos owned a plot of land in Spain through a Gibraltar company. Athough there was no suggestion that Dona Pilar had been involved in any wrongdoing, the fact that a member of the Spanish Royal family was using a Gibraltarian com-
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Margarita de Borbon If you are looking for a member of the Spanish Royal Family who stays out of the limelight, then look no further than the younger sister of Juan Carlos, Princess Margarita. The Duchess, who has been blind since birth, and her husband the Duke of Soria recently celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary and have been praised in the Spanish media for their discreet lifestyle. The Duchess,
who has been a frequent v i s i tor with Queen Sofia to King Juan Carlos as he recovers from his latest operation, devotes most of her time to charity work, especially UNICEF and the Spanish Heart Foundation.
Alfonso de Borbon
the headlines again recently with the revelation that the Duchess’s husband Leoncio may have fathered a second illegitimate child. Once again the family has been plunged into a fresh round of good old fashioned feuding.
LESBIAN: Duchess with Liliane Dahlmann
Guerrero. She got divorced before marrying Felipe in 2004, but not before a once-trusted cousin David Rocasolano, claimed in a book Adios Princessa, that she had an abortion before meeting the heir to the throne and had the paperwork destroyed just weeks before their engagement was announced.
MIFFED: Her son, Gabriel Gonzalez de Gregorio
Son of King Juan Carlos’ sister Princess Margarita, young Alfonso de Borbon is very much your rock n roll aristocrat. Looking more like DJ David Guetta than a distant member of the Spanish Royal family, Alfonso, with his shaggy beard and trendy hippy beads is more often to be seen hanging out in Marbella or Mallorca than Moncloa Palace. He has, however, been known to shave and scrub up well when summoned to Madrid for royal events. Alfonso
dates the sunning Colombian supermodel Eugenia Silva, who has put her career in New York on hold while waiting for the birth of their first child.