Queen Letizia of Spain broke protocol at Coronation and was ‘ignored’, claims expert
Queen Letizia and Felipe were seen leaving the Spanish Embassy in London before heading to Buckingham Palace where the pre-Coronation reception with other royals took place. The royal couple posed for the press outside the embassy while they were waiting for their car, and the cameras captured an interesting moment involving Queen Letizia, King Felipe and their driver.
After posing for pictures, Queen Letizia decided to walk over to the car but King Felipe didn’t follow his wife.
Instead, he stood by the front door and watched Queen Letizia break the royal protocol. Royal rules dictate that the king should always walk ahead but on this occasion, Letizia didn’t wait for her husband and decided to head towards the car without him.
When Letizia was by the car, the chauffeur didn’t open the door and instead, he drove past her and headed towards King Felipe.
Queen Letizia, who was then a few meters behind, found herself in a bit of an uncomfortable situation, later described by an expert as a “protocol hiccup”, as she was forced to walk back following the car.
Protocol expert Patrycia Centeno shared the moment on Twitter and commented: “The driver ignoring Letizia.”
Coronation Reception For Overseas Guests© Getty
Body language expert Judi James commented on the “protocol hiccup” and said that although Letizia is “one of the most elegant royals whose body language exudes an air of formal decorum, this moment seems to have caught her unawares”.
She suggested: “Posing for one last, perfect wave to the press and royal watchers she then appears from her pointed finger that moves horizontally in the air.”
This, according to the body language guru, “suggests she is asking or discussing with her husband which car is theirs”.
Letizia “walks forward quickly towards the one that a member of the entourage motions she should get into”.
Judi opined that “in many ways this is a small act of inconvenience, walking to the car rather than standing waiting for it to get to her, but in this case, the act doesn’t pay off”.
The expert continued: “The driver seems to have very fixed views of royal protocol and that means driving off past the waiting Queen.”
The chauffeur drives “to the steps where the King is standing, forcing Letizia to have to walk back to catch up”.
Judi commented: “It’s a protocol hiccup and Felipe looks comfortable with the fact that the driver opts for him rather than his wife here.
“Some more pointing from Letizia looks like a questioning signal but a pointing index finger can also be a gesture of authority and even insistence or annoyance,” she claimed.
“She copes with her usual elegance here but it’s interesting why her husband didn’t walk over to the car with her in the first place instead of pulling royal rank and making it drive past his wife to him?” the body language guru suggested.
