serendipity escribió:
Wishful thinking! When she came back to Madrid in 1969, her one and only visit after she had to go into exile, Franco was in power, and although he attended the christening of Prince Philip (mind you, he was a monarchist at heart!) the official national press had instructions to politely "ignore" the royal visit.
Ahh, of course. You're right, I had heard that too. She had an inkling from Don Juan (and her own instincts about Spain, which were good) that reaction to her arrival and stay would be muted. That's why she was so surprised at the reception at Barajas airport -- hundreds upon hundreds showed up.
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Everybody knew she was there after decades of exile, the duchess of Alba was her host and lady in waiting for the duration of the visit,
I felt sorry for the Duchess when I saw her otherwise very lively interviews in that documentary. After so many plastic surgeries, if that's what it is, one can barely understand her.
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I think she even met with Franco before leaving, but there was no press coverage as such on the visit.
This was the famous meeting between Franco and Queen Ena, so you're right. She told him in Spanish, "General, I am speaking to you as your Queen now. You have 3 possible choices for King of Spain outside. Select whichever one you want, but please do so."
(I know you know, but for the benefit of English-speakers who may possibly not know the story, I repeat this and other details.
)
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One would think media would kill to be granted an interview like the one in Lausanne, or even a few words during the Liria session, but strangely enough it never happened!. Same thing in Lausanne. She lived there for decades, and unless she specifically refused to speak to Spanish media while she willinglly granted interviews in French, which I doubt, my only conclusion is that she was never asked!.
Another logical possibility exists that Queen Ena might have been amenable to a Spanish-speaking interview (say, from a South American news outfit out of the thorny reach of the Generalissimo) but that she didn't want any of her words to come back to haunt her, and the monarchic cause.
As you said, Franco was a monarchist, and in fact, a conservative, traditional Galician
but he and his wife were alive to any insult or insinuation from the Royal Family, and only too glad to use it against them, in subtle ways.
After all, the powers-that-be are always touchy about the powers-that-were. It's just human nature.
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It would have surfaced by now, don't you think so?
Maybe! Given the jewels that Storicus finds that I didn't think possibly existed (but there they are, each time), I am just hoping against hope about this matter.
The Tsar, wife, and children all recorded wax cylinders of their voices during the 1913 Romanov Tricentary, to surprise the Empress Maria Feodorovna. She heard them, but during the War, they were stored in her palace and later lost. Where are these voice records? No where! SO FAR.
I live in hope that they'll be found and then the royal forums will explode.
P.S.: I don't think
that voice recording of the Tsar that is floating around the 'net, is really him. In case you want to hear it, click on the link. He's supposedly the one who thanks his men in review, SPASIBO BRAT', at the very end.
