publishedJul 5, 2022 at 1:54 p.m
Her solo appearance in Catalonia turns into a disaster for the heir to the throne and her sister. Dozens of demonstrators clearly show the two royals how undesirable they are.
Crown Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia visited the Catalan city of Girona on Sunday.
IMAGO/PPE
There, the 16-year-old and the 15-year-old visited the Dali Theater Museum alongside Education Minister Pilar Alegria.
Via REUTERS
According to the saying “Good face to the bad game”, Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia of Spain completed an official appointment at the weekend. Without their parents, King Felipe, 54, and Queen Letizia, 50, the sisters visited the Catalonian city of Girona. Upon arrival, however, the 16- and 15-year-old met with audible rejection from part of the crowd present, according to a video by RTVE Noticias.
With a mixture of applause and much louder boos and whistles, they got out of their limousine in front of the Dalí Theater Museum in Figueres and were received by the Minister of Education, Pilar Alegria (44). Both the heir to the throne and her sister Sofia tried to cover up the uncomfortable situation with a smile and went through their program professionally.
Since the coronation of King Felipe, Crown Princess Leonor has held the official title of Princess of Girona. However, she visited the region for the first time at the weekend – and this is no coincidence. For years there have been intense tensions between supporters of the monarchy and those sections of the population that want secession from the rest of the country, independence from Catalonia and the end of the kingdom. However, King Felipe opposes this.
Image of Crown Princess Leonor lit
It was already in 2020 that the two princesses and their family felt hatred in Catalonia. On September 11th, on the national day of the region in north-eastern Spain, there were protests in Barcelona against the Spanish royals. A supporter of the “Arran” organization even ignited a picture of the royal family on the street. The fact that photos of ex-king Juan Carlos (84) and his son are burned is not new in Spain. Two years ago, however, the political conflict is likely to have escalated to such an extent that the Protestants no longer shy away from a photo of the royal children. Photographs of it then made the rounds in the national and international press.
On September 11, 2020, Catalonia’s National Day, protesters burned a picture of the Spanish royal family.
imago images/ZUMA Wire
As heir to the throne, however, Crown Princess Leonor is also increasingly coming into focus and has appointments more often. In doing so, she also feels the hatred of the opponents of the monarchy. In November 2019, the then 14-year-old gave a speech at the Princess of Girona Awards ceremony in Barcelona. Countless demonstrators gathered in front of their hotel and tried to prevent King Felipe and his daughter from appearing. Around 1,200 security forces were deployed to protect the two.