Princess Alexia - News & Events 2021 -

[Mariola]

No Pearl clutching over here.  Nope!  There are two kinds of people in the world: the ones who measure everything by “what would other people think” and the ones, like Nobel physicist Richard Feynman who opined “what do you care what other people think?!  Pearl clutchers usually fall into the former category.

Based on how heavy Alexia was made up and how intent she was posing for camera, I think she belongs to the former.  She cares about what other people think. She wants to be the star, the center of attention. She has shown that trait for years in all the photo ops. It seems she would like to follow Olympia of Greece to become Instagram influencer and model.

Call me old-fashioned, but I would be very concerned to learn my minor daughter (16 is a minor in the US. Not sure about Europe.) attending a party with whatever theme that was. How else did they act out that theme? Given Dutch media code doesn't reach the UK and her classmates are probably not Dutch, I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time her photos go viral on social media. It's the age of social media. This is not about letting teens be teens. She has a privileged position. She'll attend more royal events with her family in the future. What would others think when they meet her? Saluting her as the Royal Highness? Or seeing her as the half-naked girl posting for silly social media photos?     

I don't think Leonor was in that party. Her personality is much more reserved. I also think she's far more aware of her position than Alexia is.

But Alexia does not have a 'position' and even if she did she should be able to have some harmless fun with her friends in private. As for acting out that theme - it is not as if they are having an orgy 
This is what teenage girls do, and there is always a photo.

I have always taken exception with this “is what teenage girls do” the same way I side-eye “boys will be boys”. I just turned 32 and while in high school independently waited until 17 to date my first bf (no baby boyfriends before in elementary, middle,
Etc). I also only went to homecoming and prom (no after parties) and any birthday party I went to in HS was supervised by parents. I look back now and don’t regret anything about it. I had an amazing experience growing up and didn’t go crazy in college as a result. It was wholesome and I still found ways to bend the rules without compromising myself.

Saying all this to point out the fact that not all teen girls are the same and superficially what I have seen of Leo/Sofia they remind me a lot of what I was like.

As others have posted Alexia has proven time and time again to love the spotlight and posing so I don’t think this is the last we will see of her and as she reaches adulthood it will only prove to be worse if she doesn’t achieve self-awareness of her position and the privileges that come with it.

You are a little bit older than I am, but I also had a quiet teenage, but a lot has changed in the last 10-15 years because of social media.  I do not see harm in dressing up and having a party with friends and that is really all we see and that is what I mean about this is what teenage girls do. The difference is that now people see pictures. They are not drinking or smoking or taking drugs or sleeping around as far as I see - they are just being silly in dress-up.

We still had MySpace and Facebook had just entered the scene. Pictures were and still are out there. I would have never dressed that way in high school and even in college during my frat’s “CEO’s and Corporate Ho’s” and the follow-up sexy Barbie party where we were encouraged to dress up like a sexy Barbie version (I wore a flannel shirt and Daisy Duke jean shorts).

That was well into my 20s. I would have never dreamed of wearing what any of those girls had on in the pictures. I am also not an heiress, and while not as aware of what pictures like that could do to my professional reputation, my personality was just not suited for it. So not all teenage girls are created equal in character, boldness and attention seeking ways.

OK maybe it is a language issue and I am not capable to explain myself correctly but I did not say anything about all teenage girls being created equal in character, boldness etc. 

There can be something in between harmless and harlot (and there I will leave the discussion).

[Laprincess]

No Pearl clutching over here.  Nope!  There are two kinds of people in the world: the ones who measure everything by “what would other people think” and the ones, like Nobel physicist Richard Feynman who opined “what do you care what other people think?!  Pearl clutchers usually fall into the former category.

Based on how heavy Alexia was made up and how intent she was posing for camera, I think she belongs to the former.  She cares about what other people think. She wants to be the star, the center of attention. She has shown that trait for years in all the photo ops. It seems she would like to follow Olympia of Greece to become Instagram influencer and model.

Call me old-fashioned, but I would be very concerned to learn my minor daughter (16 is a minor in the US. Not sure about Europe.) attending a party with whatever theme that was. How else did they act out that theme? Given Dutch media code doesn't reach the UK and her classmates are probably not Dutch, I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time her photos go viral on social media. It's the age of social media. This is not about letting teens be teens. She has a privileged position. She'll attend more royal events with her family in the future. What would others think when they meet her? Saluting her as the Royal Highness? Or seeing her as the half-naked girl posting for silly social media photos?    

I don't think Leonor was in that party. Her personality is much more reserved. I also think she's far more aware of her position than Alexia is.

But Alexia does not have a 'position' and even if she did she should be able to have some harmless fun with her friends in private. As for acting out that theme - it is not as if they are having an orgy  
This is what teenage girls do, and there is always a photo.

I have always taken exception with this “is what teenage girls do” the same way I side-eye “boys will be boys”. I just turned 32 and while in high school independently waited until 17 to date my first bf (no baby boyfriends before in elementary, middle,
Etc). I also only went to homecoming and prom (no after parties) and any birthday party I went to in HS was supervised by parents. I look back now and don’t regret anything about it. I had an amazing experience growing up and didn’t go crazy in college as a result. It was wholesome and I still found ways to bend the rules without compromising myself.

Saying all this to point out the fact that not all teen girls are the same and superficially what I have seen of Leo/Sofia they remind me a lot of what I was like.

As others have posted Alexia has proven time and time again to love the spotlight and posing so I don’t think this is the last we will see of her and as she reaches adulthood it will only prove to be worse if she doesn’t achieve self-awareness of her position and the privileges that come with it.

You are a little bit older than I am, but I also had a quiet teenage, but a lot has changed in the last 10-15 years because of social media.  I do not see harm in dressing up and having a party with friends and that is really all we see and that is what I mean about this is what teenage girls do. The difference is that now people see pictures. They are not drinking or smoking or taking drugs or sleeping around as far as I see - they are just being silly in dress-up .

Also I am adding that US is not the same as Europe and the countries of Europe are not the same as each other. What is 'normal' in one country can seem strange and even outré in others. Maria wrote about it earlier I think.

First, she does have a position. Being born a royal is a position for life. With the privileges come visibility, scrutiny and responsibilities. How she acts will reflect on her parents and elder sister in the future. If she acts as a social media influencer wannabe, it could make people think less of Dutch royal family as a whole.

Second, they're wearing underwear. I would not call it just "dressing up for party." Having a party with friends isn't the problem. The problem is a 16-year old partying in underwear. We don't know what they did off the camera. If I were the parents, that's what I'd like to know. Also, does Alexia or anyone really expect privacy? One of them posted it on social media. Alexia is not posing for her "friends" there. She barely interacted with them in photos. She's clearly posing for the social media crowds. None of them intend it to be private. So this is not "harmless fun with friends in a private party."

Why are people on one hand excusing a 16-year-old royal posing in underwear and on the other hand questioning underprivileged teenage girls who got trafficked or assaulted: "Where were her parents? What did she expect?"  

[Cordelia Fitzgerald]

Why are people on one hand excusing a 16-year-old royal posing in underwear and on the other hand questioning underprivileged teenage girls who got trafficked or assaulted: "Where were her parents? What did she expect?"  

Absolutely this.  Alexia (and all of those girls) are playing with fire in a way that the vast majority of us never did, even in our wilder moments, undocumented as they may be.  Someone said it earlier that Alexia has always been allowed to get away with posing, acting older, etc.  To me, this is a natural result.

She's putting herself in a dangerous position.  Maybe it's youthful lack of awareness, maybe it's intentional, but whatever it is, it's dangerous. 

And when it seems the like the Dutch Royal Family has had some bad press this year because of bad decisions by W&M, the last thing they need is to look like they condone this or, even worse, aren't alarmed and concerned for where this could turn out.

I'm wrestling with how to say this next part because if God forbid something happened to Alexia it would not be her fault AT ALL.  But as much as she is flaunting her sexuality, if some skeevy man were to respond flatteringly and approvingly to her, she could...in her lack of understanding how things work outside her royal bubble...find herself in some real danger.

And even if that would 'never happen' because she has protection officers, she's playing a dangerous game.

I know teenage girls are often flirting with what it means to be adults, but this is not healthy, for any of the kids in the picture.

[TheMorWearsPrada]

I will say that based on my observations, Alexia's style of makeup is one I see a lot on teenagers these days. I went to my cousin's daughter's quinceañera a few weeks ago and basically her and all of her friends looked like someone did their makeup professionally, but they'd done it themselves. YouTube and TikTok tutorials have made teens really good at makeup & made a lot of them interested in it.

While when I was 15/16 in the early 2000s, we were "winging it" with a picture of Gwen Stefani or Britney Spears, cheap foundation, a tube of lipgloss, something like this: https://www.claires.com/m...en&start=48&sz=36, and a tube of this mascara we'd probably been using a bit too long: https://www.maybelline.co...ascara/great-lash-mascara

I think this is one of those things where times have changed.

[TheMorWearsPrada]

No Pearl clutching over here.  Nope!  There are two kinds of people in the world: the ones who measure everything by “what would other people think” and the ones, like Nobel physicist Richard Feynman who opined “what do you care what other people think?!  Pearl clutchers usually fall into the former category.

Based on how heavy Alexia was made up and how intent she was posing for camera, I think she belongs to the former.  She cares about what other people think. She wants to be the star, the center of attention. She has shown that trait for years in all the photo ops. It seems she would like to follow Olympia of Greece to become Instagram influencer and model.

Call me old-fashioned, but I would be very concerned to learn my minor daughter (16 is a minor in the US. Not sure about Europe.) attending a party with whatever theme that was. How else did they act out that theme? Given Dutch media code doesn't reach the UK and her classmates are probably not Dutch, I'm pretty sure this won't be the last time her photos go viral on social media. It's the age of social media. This is not about letting teens be teens. She has a privileged position. She'll attend more royal events with her family in the future. What would others think when they meet her? Saluting her as the Royal Highness? Or seeing her as the half-naked girl posting for silly social media photos?    

I don't think Leonor was in that party. Her personality is much more reserved. I also think she's far more aware of her position than Alexia is.

But Alexia does not have a 'position' and even if she did she should be able to have some harmless fun with her friends in private. As for acting out that theme - it is not as if they are having an orgy 
This is what teenage girls do, and there is always a photo.

Alexia does have a position as a Princess, but the nature of her position (the spare) is very different to Leonor's position (the heir).

I think it is difficult to compare Leonor and Alexia for a few reasons. Firstly, being the heir and being the spare are very different positions. Alexia was always going to be afforded more freedom than Leonor based on the fact that she isn't expected to inherit the throne. The Dutch RF seem to be very big on the spares having their own lives, so while Alexia will always technically a princess, I think the title was always going to be mostly symbolic for her once she is an adult and she isn't going to be a working royal.

Before the pandemic, Maxima & the Dutch RF enjoyed a lot of popularity in the Netherlands, while Letizia has always been subject to a lot of scrutiny & the Spanish RF hasn't always been a popular institution - that likely had a lot of influence on how they were raised. I still remember the huge fuss over Leonor shrugging off Abuela Sofia at Easter Mass while the Dutch girls don't seem to have been subject to such a harsh level of scrutiny over their lives.

And of course - different personalities. Leonor seems a lot more reserved than Alexia. And that's OK. Everyone has their own personality. Not everyone is a partier.

[Maria]

Spain is a lot more conservative than the Netherlands. Letiza has been on the receiving end of so much hate for so many things that would not have happened in most of the other European monarchies. It’s clearly reflected in how they raise their girls too: they have to be careful.

The Netherlands are not like that. W&M have a lot more freedom to let their girls be more normal and less careful really. Again: the Alexia I see act within a normal scope of a 16 yo girl compared to those I see in Denmark.

I find the lack of observance of different cultures especially troublesome in a thread that is about a child. I think it reflects poorly on the board.

[Laprincess]

I find the lack of observance of different cultures especially troublesome in a thread that is about a child. I think it reflects poorly on the board.

I agree a 16-year-old is a child. That's why some of us are not comfortable with what she's doing. With all due respect, I find it curious that you think a child needs to be protected from us commenting which is viewed by several hundreds people with no consequences to her, but she doesn't need to be protected from herself flaunting sexuality on social media that could be seen by millions and last forever.

I'm also curious of the "cultural norm" in liberal Denmark or Netherlands as you stated. Which of the following is the cultural norm in these liberal countries:
1. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal)
2. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear
3. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear and posing provocative photos on social media
4. A 16 yo royal partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear and posing provocative photos on social media

1 is no question normal. Are 2 - 4 normal in "liberal countries"? I haven't seen photos of Elizabeth, IA or Xian do the same thing so I don't know.  

[Aubiette]

I find the lack of observance of different cultures especially troublesome in a thread that is about a child. I think it reflects poorly on the board.

I agree a 16-year-old is a child. That's why some of us are not comfortable with what she's doing. With all due respect, I find it curious that you think a child needs to be protected from us commenting which is viewed by several hundreds people with no consequences to her, but she doesn't need to be protected from herself flaunting sexuality on social media that could be seen by millions and last forever.

I'm also curious of the "cultural norm" in liberal Denmark or Netherlands as you stated. Which of the following is the cultural norm in these liberal countries:
1. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal)
2. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear
3. A 16 yo partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear and posing provocative photos on social media
4. A 16 yo royal partying with friends (boy & gal) in lingerie/underwear and posing provocative photos on social media

1 is no question normal. Are 2 - 4 normal in "liberal countries"? I haven't seen photos of Elizabeth, IA or Xian do the same thing so I don't know.  

 

[Maria]

I find your tone quite aggressive. We have never been cool with kids being dished on and has frequently reminded posters that it’s the parents that are up for dishing, not the children.

In this thread it’s definitely Alexia who is dished on primarily. I don’t think it reflects well on the board.

Also whatever you feel about “liberal” countries like Denmark and the Netherlands, it is a fact that cultural norms are different around the world. There”s no international normal. I find your tone quite condescending, as if you want me to prove that things are really different in Denmark and the Netherlands, your proof being we haven’t seen photos like these of IA or Christian. I guess you have forgotten you aren’t allowed to ask other members for proof and that we all mostly express our opinions here. Which is what the board is for.

For what it’s worth I see girls my boys age wearing all kinds of stuff I am semi-amazed their parents let them wear because I would be troubled. I also see young girls (14 up) post photos that makes me relieved I only have boys. I see kids Alexia’s age post the strangest things online, both extremely mundane (streaks on Snapchat - please someone explain!) and also photos where I think they haven’t learn what to keep private. So once more apparently - I don’t see Alexia doing something that isn’t within the scope of completely normal behaviour for teens her age. The only difference is that someone could make money selling the photos to the press.

[perdie]

See, for me, what she's doing isn't a surprise.  It doesn't seem too precocious etc.  However, I thought she would have been more cautious in terms of trusting people not to spread these photos around, but when I thought about it, she's so used to the Dutch press code that she probably never imagined these would be published.

[TheMorWearsPrada]

I find your tone quite aggressive. We have never been cool with kids being dished on and has frequently reminded posters that it’s the parents that are up for dishing, not the children.

In this thread it’s definitely Alexia who is dished on primarily. I don’t think it reflects well on the board.

Also whatever you feel about “liberal” countries like Denmark and the Netherlands, it is a fact that cultural norms are different around the world. There”s no international normal. I find your tone quite condescending, as if you want me to prove that things are really different in Denmark and the Netherlands, your proof being we haven’t seen photos like these of IA or Christian. I guess you have forgotten you aren’t allowed to ask other members for proof and that we all mostly express our opinions here. Which is what the board is for.

I completely agree with this. People have talked about Alexia on this board as if she's an adult woman for a couple of years now and it doesn't sit right with me. There is a lot of speculation about who she'll be like in 10 years, but she's not there yet, and I think a developing teenager trying to learn who they are and find their place in the world (being a spare must be a weird thing too) deserves benefit of the doubt. IF she ends up an insufferable adult, well, dish on her then, but for now, she's a school aged kid and deserves to be treated as such.

People also have different personalties. Just because partying might not be IA or Christian's thing doesn't mean there aren't teenagers in Denmark and Norway who go to parties like Alexia did. People are individuals. 16 year old me was more interested in reading than parties, but I definitely had peers interested in parties. Alexia isn't representative of every single 16 year old Dutch girl the way IA doesn't represent every single 17 year old Norwegian Girl. Ariane seems to have a very different personality to Alexia from what we've seen and they are siblings who are both "spares" who were given the same upbringing and aren't expected to be working royals in the future.

[Principessa]

According to media Alexia participated in a climate march in Wales recently. Video of the march would have been uploaded by the school (Atlantic College)

https://www.telegraaf.nl/...m1_byccTLi2OiygU7sklLMRRE

[TheMorWearsPrada]

Good for her - both for being educated about and aware of climate change and being undeterred from the "controversy" and continuing to basically living her life like a normal 16 year old girl.

[Principessa]

Maternal aunt Inés Zorreguieta was also featured in a documentary about Amalia this week (because of her 18th birthday today). The only full (younger) sister of mother Máxima. Inés is believed to have committed suicide.

According to the documentary, Inés had a good relationship with her nieces. It also emerged that the Zorreguieta family said/mentioned that Amalia was a real Oranje, while younger sister Alexia would be a real Zorreguieta (not only in appearance, but also in character and behavior).

IMO there is truth in there