202. The wealth of having a baby
The Media Veil
The secure video call continued late into the night. Leonor remained seated in her private winter study, one hand resting protectively on the gentle swell beneath her robe. Princess Charlotte leaned closer to the camera, her expression shifting from empathy to the sharp, practiced focus of someone who had grown up under constant media scrutiny.
Charlotte: Leonor, listen to me carefully. This is no longer just a family matter or a constitutional crisis. This is now a global media war. The moment this pregnancy becomes public and it will, secrets like this never stay hidden forever the entire world will descend. Paparazzi, tabloids, social media armies, political commentators… they will tear you apart if you are not prepared.mThe monarchy in Spain has its roots in the Visigothic Kingdom and its Christian successor states of Navarre, Asturias (later Leon and Castile) and Aragon, which fought the Reconquista or Reconquest of the Iberian peninsula following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in the 8th century.
One of the earliest influential dynasties was the House of Jiménez which united much of Christian Iberia under its leadership in the 11th century. From Sancho III of Navarre (r. 1000–1035) until Urraca of León and Castile (r. 1106–1125), members of the Jiménez family claimed the historic Visigothic title Imperator totius Hispaniae or Emperor of All Spain. The Jiménez rulers sought to bring their kingdoms into the European mainstream and often engaged in cross-Pyrenees alliances and marriages, and became patrons to Cluniac Reforms (c. 950–c. 1130). Urraca's son and heir Alfonso VII of León and Castile, the first of the Spanish branch of the Burgundy Family, was the last to claim the imperial title of Spain, but divided his empire among his sons.
The Castilian Civil War (1366 to 1369) ended with the death of King Peter (r. 1334–1369) at the hands of his illegitimate half-brother Henry, 1st Count of Trastámara who ruled as Henry II (r. 1369–1379). Henry II became the first of the House of Trastámara to rule over a Spanish kingdom. King Peter's heiress, his granddaughter Catherine of Lancaster, married Henry III, reuniting the dynasties in the person of their son, King John II.
Leonor’s hand tightened slightly over her belly.
Leonor: I know. I’ve seen how they treat any royal who dares to be human. But I don’t want to hide my child like a mistake. Yo he tenido en cuenta lo que recien me dices. Pues he preparado mucho.
Charlotte (nodding, voice steady and strategic): You don’t hide. You control the narrative. That is the only power we have left in this age.
Here’s what I would do if I were in your position:
First, timing is everything. Do not let the story leak through rumors or paparazzi photos. You must choose the moment. Release a controlled, dignified statement perhaps through the palace, perhaps through a trusted international outlet. Frame it as a story of love, duty, and new life. Emphasize that you chose Spain and still created life. Make the child a symbol of hope, not scandal.
Second, control the visuals. No grainy long-lens photos of you looking tired or emotional. Commission professional portraits —elegant, regal, powerful. Show your strength as a future queen who is also a mother. Let the world see the beauty in it before the tabloids can twist it into something ugly.
Third, prepare your allies. Reach out quietly to friendly royals and influencers. I will help from our side the British press respects our family’s privacy more when we guide the story. Use your global popularity. The world already loves Caos as a football god. Lean into that myth. Position this child as the bridge between two worlds — the old monarchy and the new chaos.
And most importantly… prepare for Sofía. She will leak information if it benefits her. You must be one step ahead. Have trusted people monitoring her communications. Build your own quiet alliances within the Cortes. Show them that removing you would create more instability than keeping you.
Charlotte (softening, voice warm again): You are not alone in this, Leonor. I know what it feels like to carry the weight of expectation while wanting something real. This child deserves to be born into love, not shame. And you deserve to be a queen who doesn’t have to erase parts of herself to wear the crown.
Leonor wiped a tear from her cheek, smiling faintly for the first time in the conversation.
Leonor: Thank you, Charlotte. Truly. I will think about everything you said. The media strategy… the timing… the framing. I won’t let them turn my child into a scandal. I will make them see this as the beginning of something new.
The call ended with promises of future contact and quiet support from the British side.
Leonor sat in silence for a long time afterward, hand gently cradling her belly, feeling the faint, restless movements of the child who already carried both royal blood and chaotic fire.
Leonor (whispering softly to her unborn child): Your aunt Charlotte is right. We will not hide. We will control the story. And one day, when you are ready… the world will meet the storm your father and I created together.
Outside the palace, Madrid slept under a quiet sky.
Inside, a future queen began drafting the first careful steps of a media strategy that could either save her crown… or redefine it forever.
To be continued…