The current Spain and the Spain of the coming years coexist in Letters to a queen, a collective book that brings together the letters that 35 authors, from various fields and sensibilities (both monarchical, republican and nationalist), have written to Princess Leonor. This work of Zenda, sponsored by Iberdrolais a non-venal edition that can be downloaded for free on this page.
Below we reproduce the letter written by Susana Fortes, which is titled “Go down from the tree”.
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I have in front of me the photo of his last birthday. 31 October. A Tuesday. Turning eighteen and taking on all the institutional weight that the Constitution has placed on your shoulders does not seem like the golden dream of any teenager. If I, at your age, had been asked to stop being myself, with my pluses and minuses, to become a representative symbol, whether of athletics, the rule of law or the defense of bluefin tuna, I would come out on top. the lions gate.
We already know that the job of a princess is not like that of bakers who are up at five in the morning, nor like that of firefighters who save lives by climbing the fire escape, but it also brings them. Dealing with high expectations is one of the worst challenges that elite athletes, struggling writers, scientists working against the clock, and of course young princesses, have to face. It takes temper.
“To begin with, the politicians in power will give you incredible headaches, although you don’t have to worry much about that either. They are birds of passage“
Over time, its function will consist of reconciling opposites, that is, juggling. He will reign but he will not rule. This is precisely the key to parliamentary democracies. If you are lucky and surround yourself with good advisors, you will be able to help weather the storm and gain respect. But I fear that respect will have to be earned. And it won’t be easy, of course.
To begin with, the politicians in power will give you incredible headaches, although you don’t have to worry much about that either. They are birds of passage. There is a scene in the series The Crown in which a newly appointed Labor Prime Minister sits down to chat with the Queen for the first time at Buckingham Palace and she asks him: ‘Do you know, Mr Blair, that you are the tenth Prime Minister to sit in that chair with me? »
The tenth!
Well that. Regarding series, The Crown It doesn’t seem like a bad school to familiarize yourself with the situation. It’s not that monarchies interest me too much, but I care about human adventures in any circumstance and in the Windsors, as you know, there is something to give and take. Maybe you should learn that knowing how to change a car tire and filling your hands with grease to fix the engine can get you out of more than one trouble.
Elizabeth II acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom when she was touring the Commonwealth countries with her husband. In Kenya specifically. They spent the night before in a log cabin built on top of a century-old fig tree in Aberdare National Park. British naturalist Jim Corbett wrote: “It is the first time in human history that a young girl climbed a tree as a princess and came down the next morning as a queen.”
“In the meantime, remember that you are young and that spring is out there, flapping its wings. He has every right to be happy or to try to be happy, like the rest of us mortals.“
I sincerely hope that you have much more time to climb down the tree. Understanding the world is a tricky business. To also expect the world to understand you would be asking for pears from an elm tree. Patience. For that, furthermore, there is still a lack.
In the meantime, remember that you are young and that spring is out there, flapping its wings. He has every right to be happy or to try to be happy, like the rest of us mortals. Make the most of the opportunities that chance gives you. Save time to do what you like, swim or play soccer, to tour the country through each of its seams, with all its languages and accents. See first-hand the messes and leaks we have at home. Also take the opportunity, if you can, to take a trip around the world and see up close how everything on the international board is upside down. If you are able to return from that trip without losing confidence or innocence, you will already have half the job done.
Please also do not forget that you are a woman and, to begin with your part, it would be advisable to remedy the prehistoric anomaly of the prevalence of men in the line of succession. And from there onwards everything continued.
“In short, take advantage of your parole to laugh, to go out incognito to dance with your friends, to go to the movies as much as you can, preferably during the week.“
Don’t lose the compass of your time: Greta Thunberg, Taylor Swift, Banksy… Remember that you can combine Bach with C. Tangana, María Callas with Sonita Alizadeh, who opted to stand up to child marriage in Afghanistan to the rhythm of rap. Read everything you can. More to Galdós than to Unamuno. More like Lorca than Alberti. The classics are fun, Homer is not incompatible with Tintin or Paco Roca comics. Agatha Christie can alternate well with Simone Weil, and Stephen King with Herodotus.
Read Irene Vallejo. She reads biographies, novels, essays and newspapers until she is able to distinguish the wheat from the chaff for herself. Among poets, I advise you to choose those who know how to talk about love without whining, as Helen Hanff would say.
In short, take advantage of your parole to laugh, to go out incognito to dance with your friends, to go to the movies as much as you can, preferably during the week (don’t miss The Snow Society), to be curious, to make mistakes, to get angry with the world now that you still can.
Personally, although the monarchy seems like an anachronistic institution to me, I understand the existence of kings, but monarchists seem like a terrifying aberration to me. It is these that you should take care of the most. Don’t let them make your life bitter.
Health and good luck, a Republican at heart wishes you.
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Letters to a queen It is the eighth collaboration between our literary website and Iberdrola, after the great reception of the previous volumes: Under two flags (2018), Men (and some women) (2019), Heroines (2020), 2030 (2021), Stories from the road (2022), Europe, autumn or spring? (2023) and The lights of memory (2023).
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