La Boda Real

I'm sure Saturday was a sad day for a German friend of mine.  Because she had a huge crush on Prince Filipe of Spain, who got married to Letizia Ortiz on Saturday.

Royalty seems like an expensive indulgence for democracies.  I mean, we're basically talking about a group of people leading an essentially parasitic existence at the taxpayers expense without performing any substantially useful service to society.

But business execs can use them to get attract potential business clients who are anxious to hobnob with royalty.  And they provide endless entertainment for the public and limitless copy for the tabloids.  There's something to be said for "bread and circuses", after all.

Prince Filipe's new bride Letizia is a commoner.  When the engagement was announced, observers noted that she spells her name the Italian way rather than the more conventional Spanish way ("Letitia").  Such things are important among royalty.

She had a career as a working journalist, a television reporter, actually.  That kind of background is probably excellent preparation these days for being a royal consort.  Managing image is about all that's left for them.  The days when the emperors of the Austro-Hungarian and German empires could throw the whole world into war are long gone.  As are the royal functions of the Hapsburg and Hohenzollern families, although their descendants are still roaming about.

Now it's pretty much about gossip, so let's get to it.  Here's the main story from El Mundo about the wedding.

Una Boda Real [royal wedding] seria, pasada por agua y sin sorpresas El Mundo 05/23/04

And there are pictures, of course, courtesy of El Mundo: Boda Real.  And of Cadena Ser: Boda Real. 

Rain was the biggest annoyance at the festivities.  Otherwise, everything went smoothly.  There were 1400 guests invited to the ceremony at a Madrid catedral.  (Catholic, of course.) 

The new Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his new socialist ministers were there, of course.  Things have changed a lot since the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was founded in 1879.  Socialists generally weren't invited to royal weddings in those days.  El Mundo notes that Zapatero had one of the most smiling faces of the morning, perhaps enjoying the historical irony of the invitation.

Prince Charles was there to represent Britain's House of Windsor , dressed in grey rather than the black most other royals wore.  He's a rebel, that Charles.

It's nice to see that at the end of the ceremony, "Bosque de los Ausentes" was played just before the couple left the cathedral as a tribute to those lost in the "M-11" Madrid terrorist attacks.

After the princely pair exited and late greeted the public from the balcony of the palace, Prince Filipe gave his new bride a peck on the cheek instead of the full-blown smooch for which the crowd was eagerly hoping.  No doubt the Kremlinologists of European royalty will be pondering the meaning of that for months to come.  The Spanis-language press is calling it the "decaffinated kiss."

More gossip here:

Hochzeitsgesellschaft: Ernst August fehlt, der König begeht einen Affront - Panorama Der Spiegel Online 05/22/04

Caroline of Monaco showed up with her husband Prince Ernst August of Hanover for the prenuptual dinner Friday night.  But Ernst August was absent from the wedding itself.  That caused a bit of a titter. The British royal line, by the way, are actually related to the House of Hanover.  The few critics of the monarchy in England have been known to protest against the Windsors with the slogan, "Down With the Germans!"

Letizia's stepmother decided not to attend the service, because they couldn't work out exactly where to seat her.  Spain's King Juan Carlos also departed from tradition by not entering the church with the mother of the bride, perhaps signalling his disapproval of their commoner status.

I guess it's kind of amusing to follow the antics of European royalty.  I'm glad we never set up an official royal house in America.  The official misdeeds of the Bush dynasty alone outdo anything that the royalty of Old Europe cooked up in their heyday.  Although to give them their due, the Thirty Years War and the First World War were pretty spectacular messes.

And as for gossip ... why do we need royalty when we have Britney Spears?