Royal pregnancy raises questions about reform of Spanish monarchy

After weeks of speculation in the Spanish press about a possible royal pregnancy, the Spanish Palace finally confirmed yesterday the news that the Spanish heirs to the throne were expecting their first baby which will be born in November.

Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia are in Mallorca this week on an official visit, and they could hardly help giggling infront of reporters today as the media presence reflected the excitement caused by the news.

When asked whether they preferred a girl or boy, Prince Felipe (rather predictably) said they didn’t care at all and just wanted a healthy baby. He also took advantage of the question to say that it was much too early to start thinking about the constitutional reform planned by Spain’s Socialist Government because, in his words, «a whole generation, represented by myself and Princess Letizia, stands between now and any future reforms, so there is no rush».

The Socialist government plans to end the tradition which gives males preference to females over the right of succession to the throne.

The Socialist Party’s spokesman was also asked about the possibility of speeding up monarchy reform because of the news of the pregnancy. Jose Blanco replied that while the Government does indeed intend to reform the Spanish constitution so that royal females have the same rights as heir to the throne as males, they intend to keep to their planned timetable and have no intention of accelerating reform just because of the Princess’s pregnancy.

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