Leonor's kiss in Brazil and the work of William of Holland's sister-in-law: two true (and forbidden) stories

BarcelonaThey say that with sin comes penance. This is what William of Orange, King of the Netherlands, must be thinking right now, as he has been holding his breath since September until what he feared most finally happened. According to the newspaper NRC, the monarch would have interceded to find a good job for his sister-in-law and, on top of that, that job would have been found in the public administration. A full-blown ethical disaster for someone who, as we well know here thanks to that mythical Christmas message from King Juan Carlos, must be exemplary.

It all began at the end of 2024, when Laurentien of Holland, King Willem's sister-in-law because she is married to his brother, Prince Constantin, became news. What transpired then is that the princess consort had had to leave her job at the Dutch Ministry of Finance because she had created a terrible work environment. According to the employees who depended on her, the royal satellite would have implanted there the "culture of fear and intimidation" by professing a humiliating treatment of the ministerial public servants who had to deal with her. Laurentien resigned voluntarily Following this labour scandal, she was forced to stop any further investigation into the details of her time at the ministry.

The long shadow of sister-in-law Laurentien de Holanda

Despite the departure of the royal sister-in-law, the spotlights had already turned towards that corner of the world where she had gone to work. It was really strange that such a person would take over the presidency of a foundation just like that. However, given that he has a background in political science and has previously been linked to charitable causes, it could have been considered a good idea. But it was too late, the cat had already been taken out and he had made too many enemies. Even though the palace had told him – perhaps – to leave quickly and stop this media haemorrhage, the damage had already been done.

Now, months after the uproar, the Dutch newspaper NRC She revealed that the head who supposedly embittered her workers had also gained access to the place thanks to the pressure exerted directly by the monarch, who guaranteed her that public job, which she obtained. maybe without being the best possible candidate. The newspaper argues that it was the monarch himself who pressured a secretary of state to choose Laurentien. "It is something that should be decided by the relevant minister or the prime minister and the individual member of the Royal House," it says. NCR What would William of Orange have said to get his brother's wife a job like that?

Another corpse

That, which here would be confined to a couple of headlines and a few tweets, may not be so easy for the Dutch monarchs to deal with, since in their country the democratic demands of the media and citizens are higher. For now, Guillem has been able to avoid it. This week he had a public event, which he attended as if nothing was happening. Nor has the palace issued any official statement talking about it. Will we have to wait for some political party to present a question in Parliament? Perhaps yes. In the meantime, we will see if the monarch can continue to apply this very royal technique of making it seem like nothing is happening... But it will be difficult for him to get rid of all this as if nothing happened, since he and his wife, Máxima, already have some corpses in their suitcase.

The Dutch monarchs – who have been in office since 2013 – have made too many headlines in their CVs to enjoy only the sweetness of their office and not the bitterness. For example, it was famous how, in the middle of a pandemic, they went on a pleasure trip to Greece the same week that the Dutch government had recommended that the entire population stay at home and travel as little as possible. Obviously, they had made that less than exemplary getaway with public means and on the sly. But they were caught. Despite the scandal, far from changing their mentality, they have continued as if nothing had happened, since in December of this year they were caught on a trip to Malaga while in The Hague there had been two explosions with five dead...

Leonor de Borbón, the spinster

The royals The Spanish have also been in the news this week. But not the kings themselves, but their heir daughter, Leonor, who has been featured on the cover ofHello!. "Princess Leonor, the truth against hoaxes, controversies and the false kiss", the pink header headlines. Basically, in this issue the magazine tries to discredit any information that has appeared about the heir to the Spanish throne in relation to her personal life, which recently became news when it was made public that she had been caught by a Brazilian paparazzi kissing a colleague. Juan Sebastian Elcano at a party in Salvador de Bahia, where the ship stopped. Although the information eventually leaked, there are no photos of the hypothetical kiss because the bodyguards of the future Spanish queen had seized the images from the paparazzi who recognised her in the crowd.

Seen the headline ofHello!, it would not be strange if the information used by the magazine came directly from the Zarzuela, where they seem to consider the fact that Leonor can experience life as a stain on her record. Truly, it is incomprehensible that there are such nineteenth-century and puritanical minds in charge of the public image of this 19-year-old girl. Minds so archaic and so horrified by the passing of time. girl to woman of the princess who have decided that the fact that she is seen having a good time in company will be read by the people as neglecting her military training obligations. The subtitle ofHello!, "Unaffected by rumors, she faces her training stage seriously and responsibly.", is an unmitigated evidence. This text that smells of No-Do will be a stain on your resume, since it can be read forever as a not a small excuse and, therefore, as a whole accusatio manifesta.

This cover is really an overreaction that is scary. It is scary and perhaps gives away... It is as if they had become very nervous because after trying to sell us by land, sea and air that she would be making many sacrifices all the time on board the ship for five months, someone had caught them off guard when they found her partying. The princess is 19 years old and has the implicit task of connecting with generations that have nothing to do with the very outdated readers and/or editors of certain publications or with certain spin doctorsIf they make her a nun or a saint, they should not wait for her to save any institution.