«We will never forgive Felipe of Bourbon «

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«Forest of Absentees». Garden in tribute to the victims of March 11th 2004, Madrid.

 2004: Tragedy in Spain causing nearly 200 deaths.

Felipe of Bourbon travels to the Caribbean -unofficially- to celebrate his bachelor’s party; he organizes the most expensive wedding in Spanish history, paid by the Spanish people.

Citizenship is reproached to have «a fish’s memory«.

But, what if we go to the newspaper archives?

We can each draw our own conclusions.

What I would like to talk about concerns human values, such as:

Sensitivity, empathy, humility, sacrifice and honesty.

You either have them or not

 

It is 10 years now from that; but for many Spanish citizens, what happened back then represents the beginning of the end of the sympathy that the Royal Family could have aroused before. The worst thing about it: the hiding, the secretiveness, the will of misleading. We found out thanks to the international press, because in Spain, in 2004, national press still (…) protected the Bourbon.

The wedding of Felipe of Bourbon took place the 22nd of May, barely two months after the terrorist attack of March the 11th in Madrid. Like nothing had happened! How is it possible to celebrate a «State Wedding» right when the whole country is in mourning? Why wasn’t that wedding postponed, given the time proximity with that terrible tragedy?

The decision of celebrating the bachelor’s party – «off the record»- and going on with the wedding date, offended deeply the most essential feelings of many Spaniards, my own self among them. We considered it as an unforgivable insensitive act. Because, after the dramatic and traumatic situation that we had experienced, we expected, required and claimed for a bigger effort on the part of the Royal Family. Sacrifice? No, of course not, that word does not exist for the monarchy; sacrifice is for the governed, the subject, for the ones on the bottom, for the rest of insignificant others…

If they would have postponed the wedding a few months, they would have proved us with facts that thing they say «we are happy for your happiness and we cry your pain…” But not, it all remained in a few nice words. From that moment on, many Spaniards very clearly understood that the «Royal Agenda» belongs to the hierarchy of the «divine» and is «beyond the good and the bad …by God’s grace».

Now, they might tell us that they fulfilled their «institutional role» when they visited a hospital and took a picture with the injured, when they headed the demonstration against the attack and attended to the State funeral with their saddest faces… And we don’t question that they acted their script inside out, but, in that specific moment, Spain expected more from them and they were not up to the occasion. Ten years later, it is not shocking that popularity levels of the monarchy in Spain are at its lowest point. The message many of us got from that was «they do their own thing«.

Looking at all the above, we wonder, for example, if a Spanish citizen or from any other country is planning his/her wedding and, suddenly a close relative dies (father, mother, brother, son, daughter, etc…) in an accident, what would he/she do?, celebrate the bachelor’s/hens party as a secret for the rest of the family?, go on with the wedding, like nothing had happened? Or, rather, postpone the date of the ceremony, even though that involves inconveniences to the guests, the organization, etc…? And of course, nothing about bachelor’s/hens parties…

Ten years after that wedding: What did it we get out of it? Has it contributed to the development of our democracy? Has it helped us to improve as a nation? Absolutely NOT.

Furthermore, and having mentioned the preceding facts, we should start to dismantle some self-serving fallacies:

«The Bourbons work for Spain» – FALSE. They rather, «work» for the permanence of the monarchy in Spain, because they live thanks to the Spaniards.

«Juan Carlos I brought the democracy to Spain» – FALSE. It was the dictator Francisco Franco who chose Juan Carlos of Bourbon as his successor. Three years after the death of the dictator, in 1978, the elites of the Franco’s regime drafted, behind closed doors, a Constitution that as the «Moses tablets” was presented to the Spaniards to vote it.

«In Spain there is a quality democracy«- FALSE. The true democracy will come to Spain the day when a referendum is called and people are asked if they want to go on with the monarchical regime («heirs of the Spanish Empire») or, if all together, we built a Federal Spanish Republic, democratic and from the 21st century.

CHRONOLOGY:

Madrid, Thursday the 11th of March 2004 –

SPAIN EXPERIENCES THE BIGGEST TERRORIST ATTACK OF ITS HISTORY.

«The offences of the 11th of March 2004 (also known as 11-M) were a series of terrorist attacks in four commuter trains in Madrid carried out by a terrorist jihadist cell, as revealed by the investigation carried out by the police and the judges.

This was the second biggest terrorist attack perpetrated in Europe until now, with ten almost simultaneous explosions in four different trains at the rush hour in the morning (between 07:36 and 07:40). Later, after an attempt of deactivation, the police made a controlled detonation of the artifacts that had not exploded; the deactivation of the third one allowed the beginning of the investigations in order to identify the possible authors. 192 people passed away, and 1858 were injured».

Madrid, Friday 12th of March, 2004-

MASSIVE DEMONSTRATION IN MADRID AGAINST THE ATTACKS.

«This demonstration, convoked by the government, was probably the most multitudinous of Spanish history together with the one after the attempt of the coup d’état on the 23-F, the demonstration of repulsion against the murder of Miguel Ángel Blanco or the demonstrations against the war on Iraq.

At 19:00, 2.3 million people demonstrated in Madrid (with a population of 4 millions) under a soaking rain, yelling «We were all inside that train!», «We are not all here, 200 are missing!», «Spain united will never be defeated!», «No ETA!», «No Al-Qaeda!», «Murderers, murderers!» or «It is not raining, Madrid is crying!». The demonstration was planned to take place between two centric squares of Madrid, and much more of the estimated space was taken by the crowd. In a poetic way, people said that it was not raining, but that Madrid was crying. The Prince Felipe and the Infantas Elena and Cristina of Bourbon joined the demonstration, being this the very first time in history that a member of the Spanish Royal Family does this. The cardinal Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid also demonstrated for the first time…»

Madrid 25th of March, 2004 –

11M STATE FUNERAL

«The tears of the Royal Family»

«The Kings and their sons spontaneously walked the central nave of the Almudena Cathedral to comfort the relatives of the victims of the 11-M…»

24th March, 2004 –

FELIPE AND LETIZIA ABORT THEIR BACHELOR’S PARTY AS A SHOW OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE VICTIMS OF 11M.

«The Prince and Letizia Ortiz abort their bachelor’s party as a show of solidarity with the victims of the 11-M and their families…»

«The Prince of Asturias and her engaged, Letizia Ortiz, have decided, by mutual agreement and as a show of solidarity with the victims of 11-M and their families, to abort the bachelor’s party. M. Felipe and Miss Letizia had scheduled to celebrate before their marriage on the next 22nd of May in one of the royal sites of the National Patrimony in the surroundings of Madrid…»

08th of April, 2004 –

FELIPE AND LETIZIA WERE INSPECTED AT MIAMI’S AIRPORT

“Public servants compelled the Prince and his girlfriend to pass through the airport control» 

“The strong security measures imposed by the United States at their airports provoked an unusual diplomatic incident with one of the Washington allies in the Iraq offensive, when the Miami airport authorities compelled the prince Felipe of Spain and Letizia Ortiz to go through the control last Thursday”.

The couple and their four bodyguards came from Bahamas in a charter flight to be taken in Miami, a flight back to Madrid operated by Iberia. When the Prince Felipe and Letizia tried to pick their luggage back, they were commanded by the police to open their suitcases, which were carefully examined by the security services. As The Miami Herald relates, in that moment the debate aroused among the prince’s enclosure and the security bodies of the airport. «We are your allies: you can’t do this!» yelled a member of the Spanish delegation.

Easter Sunday 11th of April, 2004

FROM THE CARIBBEAN TO MAJORCA, THE EASTER HOLIDAY OF FELIPE AND MRS LETIZIA

«His Royal Majesty the Prince of Asturias and Miss. Letizia Ortiz arrived yesterday to Palma de Mallorca after spending a few relaxing days in The Caribbean. Accompanied by a group of friends, they first enjoyed a few days at the Sea of Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), to later travel to the idyllic beaches of Nassau, in the Bahamas.

After this advance of the honeymoon with scale and the «affair” of the luggage in Miami, the couple went back to Spain and travelled to Palma de Mallorca. It is the first visit of Miss Letizia to the island as the engaged of Mr. Felipe. There, the couple joined the Kings, who last Wednesday switched their residence to the Palace of Marivent and the Infantas with their respective husbands…»

Saturday 22nd of May, 2004 – Royal Wedding in Spain

«The Royal Wedding of the prince Felipe of Bourbon and Letizia Ortiz took place in the Cathedral of Almudena in Madrid on the 22nd of May 2004, before more than 1,200 guests. Representatives of 12 ruling royal houses and 12 non-ruling ones attended to the event.

It was considered State Wedding, the first in Spain since more than 50 years ago, and it was also the first wedding to be celebrated at the Cathedral of Madrid, which had been consecrated on the year 1993…»

06th of September, 2004

«FELIPE AND LETIZIA WANT TO CELLEBRATE IN SEPTEMBER THE «BACHELOR’S PARTY» ABORTED BEFORE TE WEDDING»

«Felipe of Bourbon and Letizia Ortiz are willing to celebrate this September, after the summer holidays, the bachelor’s party that was suspended on the eve of their wedding, celebrated in May…»

17th of December, 2013 –

THE PRINCE AND PRINCESS DID NOT SUSPEND THEIR PARTY BECAUSE OF THE 11M.

«An email contributed yesterday by Diego Torres to the judge Castro demonstrates that Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia did not suspend their bachelor’s party as a sign of mourning. In this message Iñaki Urdangarin (husband of the Infanta Cristina) sends his friend Pedro López Quesada a list of possible guests to the party, with two columns: the one with friends and relatives sure attending and another column with doubtful ones. In the first column we can find the names of Iñaki Urdangarin, his brother-in-law Marichalar and the Gómez Acebo family, cousins of Infanta Cristina and Mr. Felipe…»

More information – Links:

Alicia Rodríguez

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