The fight for relevance is part of the very nature of European monarchies, doomed to defend every point of popularity as the oxygen that gives air to their official agendas. In these uncertain geopolitical times, the Continent’s Crowns also wobble due to their own scandals, with the Windsors and the Norwegian royal family especially touched. Only a few unimpeachable figures stand above the controversies, among them Kate Middleton (44 years) and Letizia Ortiz (53).
The similarities between the Queen of Spain and the Princess of Wales have been lauded countless times, starting with their humble origins (although Middleton never truly made a professional name for herself) and ending with their dedication to raising their children in as normal a family environment as possible. We know that both have made it a point to accompany their respective offspring to school personally, like any other mother.
Both. Kate Middleton and Letizia Ortiz, also enjoy unbreakable marriages after having endured countless moments of uncertainty and crisis, almost always related to discontented family members. It is impossible not to mention the similar shock produced by two disruptive couples: the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the former Dukes of Palma. Other moments have been certainly dramatic, such as the illness of the future queen of Britain and the death of Letizia’s sister.
Few European royals submit to the scrutiny that Kate and Letizia must endure, in some ways at the spearhead of the tricky task of giving meaning to a figure as unassisted as the queen consort. It is a role that arrives without rules or instructions and that each titleholder must invent to connect with the citizenry. At the start of their public exposure, both strongly pulled on the two traditional trump cards of the royals at the forefront: beauty and fashion.
All eyes on Kate Middleton
As the years have passed, the strategies of Letizia Ortiz and Kate Middleton in their performance have varied and evolved. More so in the case of the Queen, for she has ascended the throne and can operate according to a settled own criterion. Middleton, still on the bench as Princess of Wales, must carve out a space without eclipsing Queen Camilla, although the troubling circumstances of the British royal family, close to removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, oblige her to shine more than ever.
The differences between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Spanish monarchs can be summarized in a significant duel of images. In the photos that aim to express their universe of values, the former tend to pose with mountain clothing and rubber boots in the middle of the nature, preferably a forest bathed in magical light. The kings Felipe and Letizia opt for a much more prosaic scene that is repeated again and again: one that immortalizes them going to or leaving the cinema, like any other Spanish couple.
La reina Letizia, a su llegada a la capilla ardiente de Fernando Ónega.
Con todo, en los últimos meses la distancia que separa a Letizia Ortiz y Kate Middleton ha aumentado. Y probablemente siga haciéndolo conforme la Princesa de Gales vuelve a hacerse fuerte en la agenda real y sus apariciones se hacen cada vez más frecuentes. Su desempeño continúa la clave conocida: sonrisa permanente, melena intachable y un armario a prueba de bomba que, pese a sus intentos, no ha podido revolucionar. Quiso quitarle peso y dejar de anunciar marcas y diseñadores, pero la queja fue unánime. Tampoco su insistencia en el traje de chaqueta ha tenido demasiado éxito.
Letizia Ortiz is characterized by her dynamism
The Queen Letizia, by contrast, has imposed her own rule. In her weekly appearances at events and in visits on the royal agenda, she tends to wear pants or a blazer suit without it bothering anyone. She also does not refrain from repeating outfits, something that is understood as a measure of sobriety hardly criticizable. With these wardrobe decisions, she cements her image as a professional and dynamic queen, executive queen, we could say, compensating for the non-existent role assigned to her by constitutional law and custom.
The more dynamic Queen Letizia is shown, not only quickly intellectually but in her body language, the more solemnity is observed in Kate Middleton, characterized by a much more measured body language. This has been observed with great acumen by Ana Polo Alonso, an expert on royal houses and author of several biographies of queens and aristocrats (Sissi, Queen Elizabeth II and Cayetana de Alba).
“She has a cinematic elegance. She always seems to be in slow motion. That is why she photographs so well,” she stated, upon viewing the images of the Princess of Wales during the Commonwealth Day celebrations. Indeed: there we have a future queen who seeks the ideal. Letizia, however, seems to have opted for the raw and simple reality.
