Like Koo Stark before her — the photographer girlfriend of Prince
Andrew — Eva continues to maintain a dignified silence when it comes to
her relationship with Prince Felipe.
Questions were invariably asked as to what King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia thought of their only son's unconventional choice of bride.
During the wedding in Madrid, it was noted the King and Queen were hardly a picture of uncontained glee. But then it was pouring down with rain that day in May! And parents usually feel a chapter in their lives has closed when the last child gets married.
Their two daughters, Infantas Elena and Cristina, having already married Spaniards, the King and his wife had already become used to the idea of compatriots as consorts.
Whether it was fatigue from squashing a nacent anti-Letizia movement among the Spanish aristocracy, attending the Danish royal wedding, and breaking up a fight between Italian claimants on the eve of the nuptials, the sovereigns have since demonstrated their warm regard for the Princess of Asturias, especially this past week during what has been a time of heartbreak for Letizia and her family.
During the funeral for her younger sister, Erika Ortiz, who it's now widely believed committed suicide following severe bouts of depression, the King and Felipe supported Letizia as she attended the private funeral service at the crematorium. Meanwhile, the Queen was in tears on hearing the news of Erika's death and immediately cut short a tour in Indonesia to return home to help support her grieving daughter-in-law.
There is one final, very important ingredient to making the transition from 'norma' life to that of a member of the Royal Family: the prince must be ready and willing.
During his relationship with Eva Sannum, Felipe had clearly not reached that point in his life where all his friends were getting married and he was the last single man standing. As John T Molloy writes in Why Men Marry Some Women and Not Others, men need to enjoy their carefree bachelorhood, to sow some oats. Just because a woman is ready to get married, he may not be.
By the time Felipe proposed to Letizia, he was already 35 and ready to be a committed family man. Likewise, as the recent story about Prince William reveals, he is yet to come into his inheritance from the estate of his late mother, Diana. Only in June this year will the future King truly find independence and freedom from those within Clarence House.
Any man worth his mettle with an important role to play in his country won’t cave in under pressure. The press wants a wedding from William, not necessarily a marriage, and the expected christenings and tiaras at State Banquets and Openings of Parliament.
Behind all that, William is looking for someone who knows how to sit through the Speech from the Throne and the toasts. And to give her own. It is William who will have to live with his Princess.
It would be sad if William, aged around 25, were to marry Kate, have two children and ultimately end up divorcing at 35, all because people are desperate to marry their favorite Prince off to a woman who appears his 'perfect' match.
Such personal tragedy would happen if two incomplete people (because at this age, neither William nor Kate are fully developed enough to sustain a happy marriage) head to the altar.
Each needs to beef up their respective CVs. They should ignore the desires of the outside world and simply take their time.
Comment: INteresting that you haven't mentioned Crown Princess Mary of Denmark - whose past is quite patchy. Her best friend Amber Petty is quite notorious, her cousin by marriage a convicted child rapist. How did Mary "Slip" through?
Name: Babs
Comment: wow. this is a very enlightening article. very down-to-earth and realistic. I enjoyed reading it even though I barely knew half the people you talked about.
Name: vreston
Comment: To M-M - you caught me in a mistype - what I meant to say was 'Prince Joachim's indescretions and juvenile behavior' - he was well known to be more of a lightweight compared to his wife, 'party prince' because of his lifestyle - rather different than Alexandra's who seemed beyond reproach in those areas and applied her business skills to her royal commitments with dogged gusto. In fact, from what I've read she is still enormously popular and loved by her ex-mother in law, even though the divorce really nailed them in the wallet.
Alexandra's fiancee's got some interesting history of his own, but there were no allegations of any impropriety on her part.
Name: M-M
Comment: Vreston wrote Perfect matches don't all work out either - Alexandra's marriage crumbled under her husbands infidelity. _________________
If you have a reference for this I would be glad to see it . AFAIK the reason for divorce has never been disclosed by either party And Alexandra's deep relationship with fiance Martin , one of Joachim's friends , about to result in marriage , might make the issue less clear-cut ?
Name: pinkpoppy
Comment: I think this was one of the best article that I have read in a long time. The pulic may want a wedding. But William has to wait until he feels totally sure about this. Kate must also realise what its all about if she is the woman for him. She will be marrying a lifestyle, not one of fun and parties ect.. William is still young and carrying I feel quite a lot of emotional baggage.Charles and Diana were ill suited and I for one was surprised when they married.Their divorce was no shock, like that of my own parents and you could see it coming. William needs to find himself and no doubt when the time is right for him to marry I am sure he will. But he must not be rushed into what others think he should do. More articles like that please
Name: vreston
Comment: I think that Anycat's point was to suggest keeping an open mind about all parties involved in the W&K journey and even this early on people are taking sides. It's not a matter of 'whining', but a valid observation. It's obvious for monarchies to exist today, old rules of engagement (pun intended) no longer demand royal lineage and silly unrelistic virtue, although some money or prominence helps - after all, how does on (except for Mary of Denmark) meet a prince? Royal marriages simply reflect our world as it is today and cv's are what it's all about. I think that Kate could do more for PR purposes alone, but then one of the 'sides' would inevitably call her on it. They met at a different time in their lives than other couples and may not have as many accolades, but it does not necessarily mean that their union is doomed or ill-advised. I just think that W&K are mental equals and are perfectly happy together - neither too bright or ambitious.
Name: M-M
Comment: Anyacat Comment: They are not even engaged and the nay-sayers already have William and Kate divorced. Of course, what would I know, NOT being one of those to sit around and wonder what people such Kate Middleton are doing with their time. But it is nice to know that Chelsey has her admirers and that battlelines are already drawn long in advance of any marriage, much less engagement. Last time this happen, it was Sarah Ferguson who drew the short straw. __________________
This article is about the difficulties of actually getting to marry the Prince of choice . Sara Ferguson got to marry hers .... and threw him away . So she is not really relevant in this thread .
You can't quarrel with the point the article is making , that being a mature age (and that seems to matter a lot to William ) and having a good CV are advisable if you want to marry a Prince .
If Kate is prepared to wait for a couple of years for William , she could do no better than take a serious job (using her fine Arts degree ) and fill in the time that way , and maturity will take care of itself
Name: vreston
Comment: Great article Janice and you've definitely prompted a lot of comments.
How potential royal brides are perceived and accepted by each country vary greatly, and the successful unions would not have been necessarily equally well received in another country.
Maxima's family was disinvited to the wedding and Mette Merit's past would have made her an unlikely candidate in any less liberal country (they lived together and she apologized before they married). Perfect matches don't all work out either - Alexandra's marriage crumbled under her husbands infidelity. The couple should be both intellectually matched and ready to commit when they marry, or just believe that they are. Diana and Charles were so wrong for each other it's rediculous - he wasn't committed.
So what if Kate and William lived together initially as housemates - they were just flat mates. Virginal virtue as a qualifier is long fogotten. They both do need more real life experience under the belts, but it looks like they've had a great start - 4 years of nearly anonimous normalcy together. That's got to be worth something? I'm just enjoying watching events unfold. Hope that both of them find a good match - perhaps in each other.
What's ironic is that Harry and Chelsy may be even better matched, but I highly doubt that they will ever be permitted to marry.
Name: Kate
Comment: To Anyacat - My dear- everyone on this forum has a personal life - this is our hobbie and interest! In the meantime, we , have our children's children , who we are trying to help ( I never knew grandparents) we have our jobs ( still working at 64 at my choice) and still volunteering at a local hospital)
At my age, and anyone else my age, we can already sense the downfalls that may occur in some relationships, especially after the Diana era.
Name: Anyacat
Comment: They are not even engaged and the nay-sayers already have William and Kate divorced. Of course, what would I know, NOT being one of those to sit around and wonder what people such Kate Middleton are doing with their time. But it is nice to know that Chelsey has her admirers and that battlelines are already drawn long in advance of any marriage, much less engagement. Last time this happen, it was Sarah Ferguson who drew the short straw.
Name: Kate
Comment: Excellant article..
A lot of us has wondered about Kate and her "sitting about" waiting for her prince. Whilst she was sitting about, could she not have gone back to university to acquire a 2nd and 3 language? - Why could she not have lived in another country for a while , to soak up and become familiar with another culture? Anything to broaden her knowledge. Look at Chelsey , on a world tour, for a year; even with her parents, it is learning and experiencing different things. I'll bet with her continuing education in England,and her world tour, she will be more acceptable/knowledgable for the position of "princess". If Chelsey ever married P.Harry, down the line, I think their marriage will last longer, then any marriage between Kate and P.William. IMO.
Again, this article was interesting, as it gave insight into other Crown Prince's lives and loves and how they managed.
For the article!!
Name: Karmen Varya
Comment: Why was Chelsy not mentioned? Or is this article only about Crown Princes girlfriends?
Either way I completely agree with the comments about KM, it is really sad how the media has gone gaga over a girl that only has the accomplishments of staying her bfs drinking partner for however many years they have been together.
And yes she did graduate with a degree, which I commend her for, but really that is so common place nowadays that it should not distinguish her from other women out there.
Especially when the tabs (not you Joanne) out there always mention how they lived together (and presumably slept together) during school. I think it would have been more of an accomplishment if she DIDN'T sleep/live with him and they still had a romance. That would be something of repute imo. Not the other way around.
But I digress. This article really is a great one, and thankyou so much for posting it.
Name: Lola
Comment: This was the best article I have read in a long time. What stood out the most to me was the similarities btwn eva and kate....seems like the only time she has any "real time" w/pw is on one of the many vacations she took last year. Plus, I think that kate needs to do more than what she currently claims to be doing work-wise. I dont think eva was the right one for PF and I am glad he did marry PL...regardless, eva had much more going on than kate has thus far done...and I have always hoped that pw does what pf did..date his future wife in private and spare us any of the many drunken night out pics that we see nearly every week of pw and km....its time for pw to grow up and he might actually be able to do that if he doesnt have kate holding him back!
Name: Donna
Comment: Prince William and Kate will be married summer 2008. Congradulations you two.
Name: Trudie
Comment: I agree with every point in this article.!!! William should do what is right for William not what the masses want i.e. a wedding. Sarah was a perfect example she thought she was signing up to be a wife only to find out other committments made that impossible. William is in the Army so I think doing his time before marriage is sensible. I hope he seriously takes note of Prince Felipe's approach and marries the woman he wants not what the masses have chosen.
Name: Karmen Day
Comment: That was the best royal girlfriends article that I have ever read, Janice!!! And I am not just refering to the articles on this site, but others as well. Well done and thank you for giving such an honest and well thought out piece.
Name: Charlotte
Comment: Great article and wise words! I remember when Felipe was dating Eva and what she wore to the wedding of Haakon and Mette-Marit. I thought it was inappropriate and it made her look opportunistic. Perhaps if she had worn something more suitable the public would have had a better opinion of her. Perhaps she could have made a better CP.
I also agree with your point that it is too early for William and Kate to marry. I wish he would do some more studying abroad. He should take a tour of the U.S. before he makes such a big committment as marriage. But time will tell.
So it's almost 5 years since they've been together. I wonder if Kate or William are willing to hang in another 5 years of boyfriend/girlfriend before marriage? If not, they should take some space, and, as you said, "beef up their respective CVs."
Name: M-M
Comment: A very well written and thought-out article . It's hard to disagree with the conclusion
"... tragedy would happen if two incomplete people (because at this age, neither William nor Kate are fully developed enough to sustain a happy marriage) head to the altar."
A mature age does seem to have something to do with a successful Royal marriage , and CV too , since the BF/GFs are also in a sense applying for a job , as well as a spouse (think CP Victoria and her Daniel Westling , the same applies to him ). Also as blameless a romantic past as possible is desireable , since the Press will dig into it - although these days that is less important than age and CV . William is IMO right to resist being forced into something he is not ready for . And he should know .
Name: Cyndi
Comment: Well written piece, which truly describes what current Royal Houses look for in a future princess. It also affirms those critics who look @ Kate and wonder what her qualification is other than waiting on Prince William to propose (in fact her so-called friends/gossip insiders whining about how she can't move on with her life cus he has yet 2 propose), boozy club-nites & let's not forget bikini clad holidays.
I could be wrong, but Kate Middleton is not in the future of the Windsor House, at lease in a legitimate and marital path!
Name: Hope
Comment: Thanks for a very interesting and informative article. Please forward a copy to William and Kate.
Name: jj
Comment: I personally do not think age is a factor. Some people are emotionally ready at 18 to sustain a fully committed relationship others maybe never whatever their age.
Both Kate and William at 25 and almost 25 seem immature to me.
Any man worth his mettle with an important role to play in his country won’t cave in under pressure. The press wants a wedding from William, not necessarily a marriage, and the expected christenings and tiaras at State Banquets and Openings of Parliament.
