Queen Letizia supports Felipe at CSIC, speaks at Conference on Volunteering

Queen Letizia supports Felipe at CSIC, speaks at Conference on Volunteering

Since the last Queen Letizia post went over pretty well, and Kate Middleton decided to go shopping in Norfolk instead of go to the SportsBall, let’s check back in with Leti for Black Friday. On Monday, November 24, Letizia joined her husband, King Felipe VI, attending the 75th anniversary of the Superior Council for Scientific Research (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas – CSIC) in Madrid. On Thursday, November 27, Letizia made a solo trip to Palma de Mallorca to preside over the opening of the XVII National Conference on Volunteering held at the Hospitality School of the University of the Balearic Islands.

Felipe and Letizia at CSIC 2

Celebrating it’s 75th anniversary, the CSIC is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain, the third largest in Europe, and seventh largest worldwide. The CSIC’s mission is the promotion, coordination, development and dissemination of scientific and technological research in order to contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and economic, social and cultural development. It is spread across all regions of Spain and employs over 15,000 people.

Felipe gives a speech at CSIC 2

Felipe said in part:

    El servicio a nuestra sociedad exige no bajar la guardia en los asuntos de ciencia, en el desarrollo de las nuevas tecnologías, el fomento de la innovación y en el impulso de la iniciativa emprendedora. A superar el desempleo, que es la primera preocupación de los españoles, contribuirán también -sin ninguna duda- tanto el crecimiento de la ciencia, como la innovación continua en todas las áreas de actividad -incluso también en la gestión y organización.

In English**:

    Service to our society requires continued vigilance in matters of science, in the development of new technologies, promoting innovation and the promotion of entrepreneurship. To overcome unemployment, which is the first concern of the Spaniards, without any doubt-also contribute both the growth of science, such as continuous innovation in all areas of activity even also in management and organization.

Letizia with winners at National Conference on Volunteering

Letizia opened the 17th National Conference on Volunteering with a speech stressing the importance of recognizing volunteers and congratulating those recognized by the Conference before handing the winners their prizes. Topics discussed at the Conference are and will be: the main priorities of the European Union for the promotion and recognition of volunteering; sectoral analysis of the group; relevant legislation to respond to emerging needs; or explanation, by various speakers, of their individual and collective experiences of transformation through volunteering.

Letizia speaking at National Conference on Volunteering

Letizia said in part:

    Los grandes cambios empiezan por algo muy pequeño, algo casi imperceptible. En una tarde, por ejemplo, con un grupo de inmigrantes que necesita asesoramiento jurídico… o un rato con una anciana para quien la vida diaria es una escalada continua… o quizá una mañana de sábado organizando juegos para niños en un centro de acogida… Unos minutos, unas horas, pensando en los demás. Y actuando.

In English**:

    Big changes start with something small, something almost imperceptible. In one afternoon, for example, with a group of immigrants who need legal advice … or a time with an elderly woman for whom everyday life is a continuous climbing … or maybe a Saturday morning organizing games for children in a shelter …. Minutes, hours, thinking of others. And acting.

Let’s talk fashion. For the 75th anniversary of the CSIC, Letizia looked professional in a bright red Mango jacket, Mango Floral Print Blouse, black slacks and black Carolina Herrera heels, and a red purse by Tissa Fontaneda. She’s also wearing ruby drop earrings. I think Letizia looks great, and I much prefer this outfit to the next one. I love the red blazer. Kate has a red blazer, which I also love, that is similar but from a different designer (I believe Kate’s is Zara).

For the Volunteering Conference, Leti wore a Felipe Varela charcoal grey dress with ruffle detailing (which is actually a repeat from 2012, photo below), Malababa clutch and Magrit heels. For her jewelry, Leti is wearing a piece we’ve seen on Kate before: Links of London “Hope Egg” White Topaz earrings. She added some pop with the red lips, but I kind of think this outfit is a bit boring. I actually wish she’d switched these two outfits. Wore the more boring one when she was accompanying Felipe and not giving a speech of her own; then at the conference where she spoke, wore the outfit with more pizzazz. She still looks great, but I would have liked to see a bit more color, even a brighter bag would have worked.

More photos in the gallery – with the volunteers, José Ramón Bauzá, Pedro Coll Llobera, Josep Luis Riera Moll, Concepción Basabe, and Felisa Pérez:
Letizia at National Conference on Volunteering Letizia arriving at National Conference on Volunteering with Jose Ramon Bauza Letizia awarding Peter Coll Llobera Letizia awarding Josep Luis Riera Moll Letizia awarding Concepción Basabe, representing the Gorabide Association Letizia awarding Felisa Pérez, on behalf of the Welfare and Development Association

**These translations are from Google Translate, so there may be mistakes.

Photos: Casa de S.M. el Rey / Borja Fotógrafos


20 thoughts on “Queen Letizia supports Felipe at CSIC, speaks at Conference on Volunteering

  1. I really like the peep-toe heels from her 2012 wearing of the charcoal grey dress. When she wears pants, it emphasizes her size – dang, she’s tiny! She seems like a small woman all over.

    I live in Europe and I’m always amazed by the tiny-ness of so many women here (France and Spain). Not just talking body weight, but their frame, shoulders, just so small. I can be skinny, but my Russo-German forebears have dictated that I will never be “small” lol

  2. Thanks KMR for this post on my new favorite royal. While I really liked the grey dress, I wear a lot of grey, I agree that Leti does look even more wonderful in red. What I especially like is how poised and comfortable she looks when going about her queenly duties, giving speeches and meeting the public. When Kate first started attending royal engagements she looked pretty comfortable but as time has gone on she has looked less so. I wonder if the attention has gotten to her and has made her self concisous or if someone in the family has been making digs at her. Either way I really hope that some day she can get back her self confidence, stand up straight, un clasp her hands and be more comfortable.

    Thanks again KMR, for taking time out of your holiday to bring us two great posts!

    1. Kate is an odd cookie to me. She seemed more confident in 2011, during her first year of marriage/royal life, than she does now, during her third year of marriage/royal life. So weird. Some people have said she started to become self conscious when she read people’s negative comments online sometime in 2012. Don’t know if that’s true, but if it is, she’s not been making any changes to fix it.

      1. Sure haven’t done nothing. Like i heard someone said she said in her engagement interview she don’t care about what other people say about her. Evidently she wore the same dress the third time.
        Queen Letizia looked nice in red n gray.

  3. As you know, I’m not a giant fan of this woman. I’ve got nothing against her at all and I do think she’s much more polished and professional than Kate. My personal favorite is Maxima of the Netherlands; she’s got personality. Some questionable fashion choices; no doubt, but I find her interesting to read about.

    But this is a serious question about Letizia. I read all the comments about how Kate has an eating disorder because she’s so thin. Do people say that about this woman? Because to me she looks as thin as, or thinner than, Kate. I don’t know much about Letizia as is painfully obvious about my posts, and I’m not here to spread negativity about her. I don’t know much and so I ask questions based on my observations. If I turn out to have the wrong idea I’ll be happy to admit it!

    1. I agree. She is very thin! Painfully thin.
      She is gorgeous, though. The red jacket. The red lipstick! Very striking.
      I think so many women in the public eye are pressured to be thin, thin, thin.
      Bring back the days of the more curvy woman. Beautiful, feminine and real.

      1. Curvy is not the only acceptable body shape. Thin women are real too. Skinny-shaming does nothing to help the self-esteems of people.

        This is coming from a curvy woman.

      2. I agree with both of you guys. I think the pressure to be thin is no good for a person’s self esteem, and I suspect not all of it is outside pressure. When you’re photographed all the time every where you go, I imagine you see every single flaw, fat roll, bad angle and magnify it. I would absolutely hate it.

        And Stephanie, I agree with you too. I used to be one of those people who couldn’t gain weight if her life depended on it. Now, not so much. I yearn for those days! 🙂

    2. When I saw the photos of Leti in pants, I was surprised at how thin her legs looked. I was going to mention it in my post – I even wrote a paragraph about it – but I wasn’t sure if it was just something about those pants that made her legs look so thin, or if she really is that thin. Because I didn’t notice it when she wore a dress. That’s why I removed the paragraph. I know people talk about Kate’s weight all the time, so to be fair we should bring up other people’s weight when they look too thin. And yes, in those pants, Leti does look super thin. Like, same thigh gap as Kate in her skinny jeans.

      I’ll look into Maxima if you’d like. I don’t know much about her except she has some awesome jewelry.

      1. No, don’t worry about that KMR. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who looked at that pants photo and wondered though. Perhaps Letizia is like me and can’t gain weight either, although that stopped for me when I hit 30. I would think a couple of children would do it too, but I know everyone’s lucky and maybe that’s her body. But she looks awfully thin to me, although I’ve got to say I think she’d get my vote as best dressed royal. She always looks great.

        1. Rumor was she used to wear pants (and continues to wear them a lot) because her legs are her least favorite feature. Maybe she is self-conscious about being so slight.

    3. Middleton has a larger bone structure and is deliberately underweight. Letizia has always been this tiny, see photos of her before she met Felipe. She’s small boned but also curvy. Her husband says she eats as much as he does but burns it all off working. All the women in her family are little like this, not unnaturally skinny, just with very small bone structure. Add that to a husband who is 6’5″ or 6’6′ and she’s going to look little.

  4. I think this woman pretty much has it all going on. She is beautiful, stylish, exudes energy, and appears to have solid relationship with her husband. The two of them are clearly working hard to bring up the image if the Spanish RF.

    Thanks for the great post, KMR.

  5. Great article, thank you KMR ! For my part, I really like both outfits, and I love when Letizia wears bright red lipstick. I think it’s so feminin and hot and elegant ! But when I try on me, it lokks like a little girl who would have taken her mother’s makeup !!!
    I really, really like Letizia and think shés a wonderful queen. But please don’t forget that she married the heir to the throne, so she had immediatly a lot to do, and she has now 10 years of royal life behind her. I’m not sure it’s fair to compare…

    1. Lol, if I wore bright lipstick, I’d look like a clown.

      It’s not really fair to compare Kate to other royal women who have been married a lot longer then her and also married the heirs to their respective thrones. Kate would naturally have less to do and be worse at it. The problem with Kate is, when compared to herself, she hasn’t shown much growth. She just needs to get out their, hire a speech coach, and work hard when she does what appearances she does. Show some real growth in her position.

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