A MONARCHIST BLOGGER

The monarchs of Spain greeting guests at a reception at the Royal Palace in Madrid (Photo: Lola H. Robles)

I would like to say my piece, and I hope your site will let me, on the Spanish monarchy that’s now going through the worst of times since its re-inception in the 1970s. I’m an East European residing in Spain and, frankly, I believe that if my country had the monarch that Spain has, it would be a whole lot better off, politically.

The reign of King Juan Carlos I is a major factor in the political stability that Spain has been enjoying, which has, in turn, made it possible for the new democratic regime to take hold. Our country’s is a much younger democracy and we could do with the stability that Spain has.

Since at least a year ago King Juan Carlos has been under malicious attack, a king who is a patriot of the first order and works tirelessly for his people – note that I don’t say “subjects”.

If there’s anyone who has earned his keep – and continues to admirably do so – in the Kingdom of Spain, it is the king.

The core royal family is a model family. I love the way the king’s three children care about each other. And despite the scandals that no doubt have been straining family relations, I’m quite positive that the sibling love that has bonded them will endure.

Infanta Elena waving to the crowd (Photo: Gregory Zeier, CC BY-SA3.0 via Wikimedia Commons)

The king and queen’s eldest child, Her Royal Highness the Infanta Elena, takes up her duties with an impeccable sense of responsibility. I’ve watched her preside over events that would tax the patience of the saintly; at such times her innate dignity makes it impossible for her to show the slightest sign of boredom. A born pro!

I specially feel for the HRH Infanta Cristina, the younger daughter. I’m convinced that it will be to her own good to be indicted (imputada) in the so called Caso Noos (Noos Case) where her husband, Iñaki Urdangarin, is accused of money laundering and corruption, among other alleged crimes. An indictment would be the height of humiliation not only for Doña Cristina but also for the extended royal family. However, at this late date, a court trial can’t possibly wreak much more damage than the scandal already has.

HRH Doña Cristina, a princess in love. (Photo: Ben Fisher/GAVI Alliance, CC BY3.0)

Ironical as it may look at first glance, it is only in the court of law where Infanta Cristina could be vindicated. It is the only place where she could prove her innocence.

I commiserate with her for having the kind of husband that she has (chorizo—meaning thief – is what I hear many indignant Spaniards call Urdangarin), and with whom she’s apparently still in love.

Obviously, a woman in love believes in her man. Love blinds. But this doesn’t mean she has been his accomplice. It is unthinkable for the Infanta to have schemed alongside Urdangarin to amass ill-gotten wealth.

Hats off to Queen Sofia. Spain is so very lucky to have her for its queen.

Felipe, the apple of Her Majesty’s eye (Photo:Ricardo Stuckert/PR-Agencia Brasil, CC BY3.0)

Felipe, the apple of Her Majesty’s eye – well, you can’t ask for a better heir to the Spanish throne than HRH the Prince of Asturias. He simply takes after his mom!

Spain still needs King Juan Carlos. There will always be a need for the kind of Head of State that he is.

I hope you will publish this blog. I just want to tell this country where I reside – a place that’s so good to live in, notwithstanding the social, political and economic turmoil that’s battering it – that I’m all for the Spanish monarchy in the person of King Juan Carlos I and his family.

Some Spaniards just don’t know how lucky they are for having the monarchs that they have. It looks to me a clear case of not seeing the wood for the trees.