I hope some Spanish peeps will comment on this post, but from the outside looking into Europe, it feels like Spain was late to address the pandemic in March, but once they figured out that they were on the precipice of a massive public health crisis, Spanish authorities locked down everything, right? I remember reading an article about how hard it was for parents, because children were not allowed outside their homes or apartments whatsoever. No parks, no fresh air, no running around. It also seems like Spanish peeps have transitioned pretty well to mask-wearing and social distancing too, right? I’m judging that solely from photos of Rafa Nadal’s Academy and photos of the Spanish royals.
These are pics of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visiting the Children Charity House over the weekend. While this post isn’t about fashion, I enjoy Letizia’s lowkey look of capri pants and a simple blouse with (gasp) espadrille wedges. And a great ponytail. The King and Queen wore masks inside and outside of the charity house and while they were social distancing for some of the appearance, they also seemed to get way too close to the kids, both indoors and outdoors.
Still, Letizia and Felipe are doing much better than the Windsors all combined. Last week, we saw Prince Charles, Prince William, Princess Anne and Duchess Kate all step out for public events. Two weekends ago, we also saw the Queen at her mini-Trooping the Colour. At no time did any of those royal people wear masks. They did observe some kind of vague social distancing, but again… WEAR A MASK. The second wave is coming, and in America and the UK, the first wave never left. Letizia and Felipe truly understand their positions and the need to set a positive public safety message. What’s wrong with the Windsors? Are all of them simply too vain to wear a mask? Please don’t give me the “it’s not UK regulations!” The goal should NOT be “to simply meet the letter of the law and nothing else.”
Also, Letizia is having the same problem I’ve been having when I’m wearing a mask: the mask creep. The mask creep is where suddenly the mask is on your lower eyelids and almost blocking your vision. It sucks!
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
Good for them, glad to see this. They are leaders.
Totally agree! If only the world had more people like them.
Will probably draw the wrath of half of the world onto my head with this post but unless masks are made obligatory by law, people will continue to suit themselves. Every country has different rules and advice (yes i agree, utterly daft esp if you consider the European Union, why not a directive from the EU to all members that every country follow the same rules?). but as long as no one says “you must wear a mask at all times” instead of “we would recommend you wear a mask at all times” people will continue to do their own thing. the masks, in any material, are hot and uncomfortable, so for many its a very easily made choice.
Disposable masks are not as hot. All I have to do is think about the possibility of ending my life on a ventilator, not allowed to see my family, and a mask seems like a very small price to pay.
One of the things I appreciate about Letizia’s fashion is I feel like she is always dressed appropriately for the occasion, even if I don’t like a particular outfit (I do like this one though.) Like she doesn’t theme dress (cough) but she knows the difference between dressing to visit a school vs a hospital vs a gallery opening.
Unlike Catherine The Tights Cryer, who wore a blue, sparkly, completely overdone evening dress to a school full of bored, unimpressed kids. Having said that, this was during the Sussex farewell week, so maybe she felt under pressure and had a sartorial point to make. In any case, it was embarrassingly overdone.
Letizia had a real job before becoming a royal and so she has fully developed as an adult. She understands what to wear on different occasions. Kate just never has a clue. She does theme dressing because she’s lived a sheltered juvenile existence.
So true. Looking across all the Euro royal families at the heir, future heir, or ruling level, it’s noticeable how the married-ins who seem impressive are also the ones that had actual jobs and life experience beforehand. Carole Middleton might have helped get her daughter into a royal family, but she sure didn’t do her any longterm favors by not encouraging a work ethic.
I’ve been struggling while wearing a mask lol. I lose SO much vision. I don’t know if I just need to give in and buy myself one that’s a different shape, or what. I also don’t really go anywhere, so it’s not something I have to do often. But still. It’s like everything from my chest down becomes invisible. I think we’ve finally hit “0 active cases” in the entire province which is fantastic, but I’m fully expecting that second wave.
I hate wearing a mask. I have a cloth one, so it gets hot (I wonder if paper ones like these would be better?) but its easy bc then I can wash it – but I don’t really go anywhere either like you said so when I am wearing it, its usually just for a few minutes to run in and out of a store really fast.
I feel really bad for people who have to wear one for hours on end, but maybe you get used to it?
My mom’s claustrophobic and she loathes the masks, but she’ll manage for short periods of time.
I figure people MUST get used to it, or they figured out some tricks to make it less uncomfortable. I have a bit more appreciation for those in health care / dentistry where they have to wear masks for their shifts.
I think my issue is mostly that I just have too much mask for my face and it doesn’t sit as well as it could.
The paper ones are lighter & easier to wear, & don’t make your face so hot & sweaty as with cloth masks. I recently had to do some plane travel for work & dreaded having to have the mask on for so long, but the paper mask turned out to be comfy enough for all those hours.
In NYC I feel most people are doing “modified” mask wearing. It’s too hot to wear outside right now for long periods of time, so many people just social distance when walking and don’t wear it. Indoors it is better but if you’re at a computer and distanced we will just take it off, but it goes back on when near someone. At least for now it seems to be working…….
I have a few reusable / washable masks with a nose wire, and I find that really helps keep it in place; I don’t have any issues with it moving around unless I don’t pinch it tightly enough on my nose. Mind you, it is still a bit uncomfortable to wear just because it’s made out of thick cloth (like a canvas type of fabric) so it’s not very breathable, and it does indeed get very hot.
That said, I’ll suck it up. We were hit pretty hard here in Quebec, so if my ‘suffering’ with a mask for 3-4 hours will help, I’ll do it.
I love and appreciate that you put the word suffering in semi-quotes; thank you for doing that!!
Masks, like all standard PPE, are designed for average sized males; not for females. It it one of the taxes of being female and it is messed up. Most masks are the wrong fit on female faces.
Exactly. Female size is generally smaller than male, and one size fits all isn’t too helpful- however, if smaller masks were made for women, they’d cost more. 🤨
Totally agree. The masks that work best for my male spouse don’t suit me, and vice versa. I was THRILLED to finally find a vendor that offered masks in a range of s-m-l-xl-n95 so each person in my family can pick the size and fabric that best suits our size and personalities (there are fun fabrics but also neutral\professionsl ones.). It’s made it easier. Lol, not that I’m their employee, ha! Just grateful to whomever at Vivian Lane designs figured out that we come in diff shapes and sizes!
Not to mention wearing a mask when you also wear glasses… I get blind whenever I take a breath hehehe
Ana, tip from a fellow eyeglass wearer. Wash your lenses in liquid detergent and they won’t fog up.
@Feeshalori…the liquid detergent think only works for awhile. One day I washed my glasses in liquid soap (is soap is better than detergent: I read that somewhere) 5 times in 5 hours. I’m a hazard to myself if my glasses fog over…I have tripped. I’m a hazard to others when I trip, because I knocked someone almost over when I was trying not to fall from tripping.
I cover my mouth with the paper masks and wear a full face shield to cover eyes and nose when I must be in close proximity of others. Physical distancing is my very best weapon…
I meant to say liquid soap, like dishwasher liquid.🙄 I find it helps for a couple of hours. But of course when you forget to do it, you get the foggy glasses. I only wear the mask in the store, I am fortunate that I am retired and don’t have to commute to work. But on the occasion I am outside, I keep physically distant from others with the mask off and mask up when going into stores or getting too close to people. It’s the only way I can tolerate that and glasses on my face.
@Erinn, maybe try a child’s sized mask?
I have the same problem, and found the masks I got for my kids fit me better. I got them a few plain ones, as well as fun ones (shark jaws and kitten faces on the masks). Luckily they don’t care for the plain ones. And I don’t care for the kitten face ones. So it works 😂
So I experimented with the surgical masks, because that’s what we have at work. And it seems that if you cross the elastic over, so the top ends up under your ears, it reduces the mask creep. I was really affected by it too, and this seems to work for now. There’s a little gap at the cheeks now, but at least I can see?
We were getting really low numbers for a couple of weeks too, with 10 people in intensive care, but this weekend we had 32 new cases.
We have also discovered a lot of Americans in BC and Alberta. When they are at the border, they state they are driving to Alaska so they get waved into one of the two provinces, where they proceed to holiday completely unquarantined, which is currently illegal in BC. Yesterday Banff Park police handed out seventeen $1200 fines to Americans holidaying in Alberta. Trudeau is threatening to have them banished from the country now.
If you sew your own, you can use the Olson Mask Pattern to make ones that fit and are washable. The Olson is shaped to the face so the top doesn’t ride up into your eyes. You can sew pipe cleaners or wire in the top for a closer fit.
WIRED UK did a review of masks, Which Face Mask Should You Buy, and I bought a couple brands from that. Wolford, Paisie, Vistaprint are ones shaped more to the face and avoid the eye area.
Letizia and Felipe take things seriously.
This is what you get when your people are not brainwashed to love you- Spanish are mostly okay with but not enthusiastic about the Bourbons. They actually gotten rid of them before, but Dictator Franco was a royalist and he made sure to be succeeded by Felipe´s father.
So, no hero worship there and that makes a difference.
No. People are not mostly ok. They’re still there because the two biggest political parties do not agree to a referendum. Letizia is highly disliked. There are money scandals all the time, last week we knew their honeymoon was paid by a sheik. And yes, they wear masks because they are obligatory here. They didn’t wear them when they visited athletes training a couple of weeks ago because they were outside and keeping the required distance.
@P, you said “Letizia is highly disliked,”. She is by the people in Spain that swallow the cr*p that the press has been slinging at her since her marriage. Imagine the nastiest, meanest and most libelous version of the National Enquirer then mix that in with a fair number of people actually believing the lies – that is the Spanish press coverage of Letizia. At least, in the US, most people don’t actually believe the NE.
Letizia has kept her head down and worked very hard in her roles as CP and now Queen. It’s a shame that many in Spain don’t appreciate that about her. It is even more of a shame that many lie about her. Like the UK press with Meghan, the Spanish press also paid relatives of Letizia to trash her. The press was even horribly cruel to her after her sister committed suicide. Disgusting.
Maybe you could swap them out for the British Royals??!
They are parasites. They are where they are because a dictator decided it. His family is full of scandals, they cost a lot of money, and every year we have new news about the money they have stolen. They wear a mask because it is their obligation. They don’t deserve praise.
P, aren’t you the troll-type from yesterday?
No, Letizia isn’t widely disliked. The only ones who dislike her are the handful of obsessed haters on the racist C-name forum.
@ Priscila Bezerra-Fischer
Re being brainwashed, THANK YOU. Brits are to a very large degree brainwashed to love and support the royal family, or at least to not actively oppose them or critically examine the organisation, its structure, uses and fit for purpose in the 21st century.
Some people (at least on this website) really resent hearing that, which i guess is understandable, but its no less true.
PS, I say this as someone who is STILL partially brainwashed and actively trying to unprogram and unpick decades of learned thinking.
I am Spaniard, and I really am a fan of Felipe and Letizia. It’s a shame how in my country the yellow press is politized and most of the people goes with the flow. I had the chance to meet them once, and been in a lunch with them. In real life Felipe is handsome and very nice. He can chat to anyone friendly and polite. Letizia is way more beautiful in life than any picture. She knows her job, and does it perfectly. In close conversation she is friendly and well educated. They are the best international representation for any country.
The money scandals affected other members of the family, and Felipe cut ties with them. He works hard to show he has clean hands.
It’s so nice to hear that Momo; and, I am happy to hear that some are giving them a chance!
I love these guys and yeah they put the whole Windsor clan to shame.
Plus, Felipe in a face mask is giving me all kinds of thoughts. I will see myself out.
Felipe is so hot, and Letizia is so fashionable… (and yes, Juan Carlos is/was/is so corrupt) …. but I love seeing them and their cute kids! Ai.
Absolutely the best comment!! 😉 Thank you!
I wore a paper mask for the first time yesterday at my hair salon because my cloth masks that my sister made have toggle straps that go around your head. Very handy by the way because you can remove the mask without touching anything but the strap. Not so handy for hair cuts! It was very annoying the way it crept around my face, obscured my vision and didn’t really fit around my nose either. Not a fan. I do like seeing people with a platform doing the right thing!
Whilst some of the Spanish royals aren’t shit, I really root for these two.
I am usually first in line to slam the Windsors, but there is no legal requirement here in the UK to wear a mask and only a small amount of people are doing so. The Windsors shouldn’t get any shade for something the government or society does not require of them
@Fee, yes but this is an instance where most can look at the governments not requiring masks and say: you are wrong, masks help deter the transmission of Covid-19, masks can help deter you from getting a huge viral load, certain areas, such as being indoors or in close spaces, can increase the amount of virus to which you are exposed, there is still community transmission (and increasing), etc., etc., and …. Many governments lied and downplayed the efficacy of masks (even homemade ones) in light of early mask shortages….and many governments, like the British, bumbled their way into ineffective and deadly responses to the pandemic.
So, at this point,I think it is irresponsible to NOT disregard a lot of government mask-wearing guidance. Especially for Charles and Camilla to whom other elderly people will, wrongly, look for guidance on whether they should wear a mask.
@Fee has a godd point. The situations ARE different. In Spain it is mandatory to wear a mask in the public space. If you don’t wear one you are fined! Felipe and Letiza are required to wear one, they can’t be above the law.
In Uk, like in France, you can choose to wear one or not ( i’m french, and for example it’s mandatory only in public transports). So legally the situations are different,: Felipe and Letiza would violate the law if they didn’t wear a mask. So in a way it’s hypocritical to say that they put other people to shame just because they didn’t violate the law in they country.
But of course, i highly recommand to people to wear a mask, and i am quite disappointed that few people wear one in the streets here.
Look, I am not saying that the UK govt has got its response right (it hasn’t) but its position on mask wearing is science led (at the moment). The concern that is trying to be addressed is “mask confidence”. That is, people who are wearing masks are getting far too close to each other, and this carries a higher risk of COVID transmission than whether you are wearing or not wearing a mask. The UK wants the primary response to lead with social distancing, and only wear a mask if you can’t social distance. Its not the approach that all countries are taking, but it is not irresponsible advice either. This of course may change as distance guide lines are amended.
Sarah, please stop with the lies about mask wearing being harmful. This is not the place for COVID conspiracy theory, take it back to 4chan.
The UK government has specifically said that you should only wear a mask if you can’t social distance. They feel that masks will make people feel safe and forget to social distance. Masks are only helpful if they fit right and are fairly dry. Cloth and regular disposable masks are useless once they become wet. They need to be changed frequently. That’s if they fit correctly in the first place. There are also ones with valves and they just let all the germs escape when the valve is open. So, they protect the wearer because they usually fit better than other masks but if the wearer is infected than they can still easily spread the virus as if they are not wearing a mask at all.
So, They’re trying to guard against the very false sense of security that masks are giving people. The BRF was likely told specifically not to wear masks because of this stance. The BRF’s primary job isn’t charity work and such as people seem to think. It’s government propaganda. The charity work is all extra.
I’m not saying the UK is right about masks. I think masks are very helpful, but I also wish the education around wearing masks was better because they are only helpful if people know how to use them properly.
I just think it is insulting of governments to assume that people either don’t know how to wear masks or could not learn. If we wear masks and act correctly, the transmission rates would go down.
You are correct, education on the matter should have been better but the general public was never given a chance. Instead there are buffoons like Trump and “I’m going to shake everyone’s hand I can” Johnson. Charles and Camilla should set a better example.
Btw, is the British government saying that elderly people can go out without a mask??! Like, go ahead Ms. Eighty-year old, go to the grocery store without a mask? If so, I would find that negligent.
I don’t enjoy wearing a mask but I’ll certainly do that any day to avoid droplets. Social distancing can only do so much.
Ainsley, “the very false sense of security that masks are giving people” — Look, when used properly, masks do protect against a respiratory, airborne virus. They absolutely do. It’s not “very false.”
It’s also not hard to know how to wear a mask properly, the government has a responsibility to educate the populace on security measures.
Studies show that if two people wear masks the risks of transmitting covid are 1.5% if one of them has covid. The UK is out to lunch on their science and is making excuses. Have they figured out how social distancing is going to work in a densely populated city like London? It is quite difficult to keep 2 m at all times in an urban setting. The UK government failed with their delay in shutting things down and herd immunity, thanks to idiots like Cummings and they continue to be wrong. Their numbers prove just how poorly they handled this pandemic when they had more time than other countries to prepare.
I can see how social distancing on a busy London street would be impossible, and therefore, people should wear masks. But I find it hard to fault Kate for not wearing one when she was at an outdoor garden centre, with hardly anyone else around, and plenty of space to socially distance. It seems like nit-picking to me, when we already have enough much bigger faults to rag on her for.
I believe the Spanish K&Q put the BRF to shame anyway you slice it. ❤️ Seeing QL and what she wears.
Greece was put out down on lockdown in March. Locked into apartments and children not being able to go out and enjoy the fresh air. The sever draconian measures helped keep numbers down. That is what helped. Unfortunately now with summer and tourism all those errors may have been in vein.
Eeerm, I might do some research before you put the Spanish royal family on a pedestal! Look one generation up and it gets….eye opening.
Oh yes, the SRF is no bueno as well. But compared to BRF I think they function better. I also think the SRF knew they better get their shit straight or out they go. The BRF feels way more secure.
I don’t know about anyone else but I have been speaking about Letizia and Felipe, pictured above wearing masks. Yes, prior generations of the royal family, and Felipe’s siblings, stink to high heaven of corruption but F and L have gone out of their way to distance themselves from problematic family members and said corruption. I think it is a bit unfair to tar them with the same brush you are using for the more unsavory royals
Sarah, the trolling doesn’t work here. The official Royal Family is Felipe, Letizia, and their daughters. The criminals have been removed as working royals, criminals from whom Letizia distanced herself from the beginning. The King has refused any inheritance from his crook of a father too. The bad ones are out, the good ones who stood against them (Letizia, Felipe) are in.
All the royal houses seem much better than the BRF, Spanish included.
They put the Windsors to shame, period.
At first blush, you would think, well, Letizia is wearing a mask not just because it is required but also because she had Covid-19 herself early on and understands just how transmissible and serious it is. But, Chuck had it too! So, there you go, there is no telling.
I have always admired Letizia for how she has dealt with the horrible press she has gotten in Spain. I think she is the only Royal out there who has been put through the wringer like Meghan. The Spanish press are just as bad as, if not worse than, the British press.
I like the Queen’s outfit and The King is one handsome man.
And masks.
Thank you.
I wore cloth masks back when things were raging in NY/NJ. I sewed them out of old bedsheets and they are way too hot for the weather now. Lightweight masks are available now and they’re much better.
I get mascara on all masks, though!
I don’t know why here in the UK, people hate wearing a face mask. Every time, we drop off supplies to my son’s grandparents, his gran always comments about why I’m wearing a face mask. Her daughter who is nearly the same age as me (early 30s) will never wear a face mask when she goes back to work. My son’s dad won’t wear one either. Boggles the mind.
Next time ask gran if she would rather get her own supplies than see you again in a mask. Or get their maskless daughter to take over. So I assume they are not making your son take any safety precautions either?
They don’t touch or go near him, we practice social distancing. He’s 3 years old, he has two masks but he doesn’t really like wearing them plus seeing his dad and other people not wear them isn’t encouraging for him either. I sent them a photo of my son wearing a mask and their comments were like poor thing.
She drops off supplies for them as well. It’s really weird, it’s like they view wearing a mask as an insult or something.
This is exactly why wearing masks needs to be modelled by UK public figures.
Yes, the spanish RF corruption and money grabbing may put the british RF to shame. Hope we can get rid of this thieves sooner than later, oh the french and their revolution! A wise country….
But you can continue talking about Letizia style while we are facing an economic and social crisis while we are learning from foreign press about their illegal comissions and “gifts” from shady businessmen.
Thanks for covering the Spanish royals, I am of Spanish descent and I really appreciate it.
Somehow Letizia doesn’t make the wedges look like the laziest choice of shoes in her closet (keencough) …I like this outfit, very appropriate for the event.
Beg you for more Leti fashion posts. It’s such an eye cleanser compared to Cambridge ones
I just like looking at pictures of her. I also like her drive and determination to do it all and do it all well. One could have far worse role models to emulate. Plus, she was ready to cut a bitch at an Easter church service when ex-Queen Sophia tried to interfere with her children.
“(C)ut a bitch,” Lol!!! Imo, Sofia was way out of line that day but it was Letizia that got cr*p for it in the press. It’s like with Pa Markle, “he/she should be able to get away with anything because they are old and your elder, dammit!”
Unsurprisingly, I also loved the eye cut. That family has treated her so terribly, cut all you want
The King and Queen are doing the right thing for there country and themselves by wearing their mask.
It’s great they are wearing masks, but for what I’ve seen from friends living in Madrid, they are not wearing masks or doing the social distancing, it’s so weird, and many of them are already making plans to go to the beach in July 🤷🏽♀️
I sewed cotton masks for myself and my family, it took trial and error to find the right fit. Using a stiff nose wire helps, and making it bigger or smaller for different faces. But ultimately if it’s hot outside it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Letizia is so pretty.
While the Borbon family is super problematic I really like this couple and their children. They seem to be in love since they married and Letizia has endured lots of bullying from the press since she was engaged because of her past. Their daughters seem to be low key children. Again some will have a different opinion but this is my post.
I agree with others about the mask because unless it’s mandatory by all countries everybody will follow their own guidelines.
Completely superficial and with no knowledge of the day-to-day feelings regarding the SRF, may I say Felipe and Letizia are a very attractive and dynamic couple, even in masks! Going from a picture of William to Felipe really highlights how unattractive William is. Add Letizia’s experience as a career journalist, Felipe’s experience in the military/diplomacy and both their educations and language skills and the Cambridges seem even more frivolous.