Posted on 04/10/2004 4:39:59 AM PDT by JesseHousman
An international incident is touched off when Miami airport screeners insist on examining the luggage of the successor to the Spanish throne and his entourage.
Crown Prince Felipe of Spain and his fiancée pitched a royal fit at Miami International Airport Thursday night, when screeners insisted on searching the future king's luggage -- just as they would any Average Joe's.
Members of the prince's entourage called the required inspection of their private belongings an ''insult'' and ''humiliating'' -- sparking a diplomatic flap that has the United States and Spain on the brink of a protocol war.
Crowning it off, Iberia Airlines, the prince's carrier of choice, is suggesting it might pull out of the airport, according to two sources close to the international incident.
Now, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas has sent the Prince of Asturias, next in line for the throne, an apology, saying he's asked for an investigation into what went wrong.
Thursday's diplomatic dust-up occurred when the tall, blue-eyed, 36-year-old Prince Felipe de Borbón and his beautiful bride-to-be, Letizia Ortiz, 31, a well-known TV newscaster, flew into MIA to catch a connecting flight home.
The couple and four bodyguards landed at MIA around 5 p.m. on a private chartered jet from Nassau. They were booked on a 6 p.m. Iberia Airlines flight to Madrid.
Whether the prince gave U.S. diplomatic officials enough notice of his arrival is at the heart of the problem.
The U.S. State Department requires 72 hours notice to arrange for expedited security screening in a private area. The prince's people called with six hours notice.
When members of the royal party were told that they and their carry-ons would have to be searched -- just like the masses -- the royal flap erupted.
''We're your allies!'' one member of the royal delegation shouted in Spanish to inspectors at a particularly tense moment.
But according to Lauren Stover, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration in Miami, the screeners were only doing their jobs. The mandates of the Department of Homeland Security following Sept. 11 require that all commercial airline passengers be screened -- even the princely ones.
''The prince and his bodyguard felt they should not be subjected to the screening, but if they do not have an escort from the State Department or the Secret Service, it is required,'' Stover said. ``It's the law.''
To accommodate blue-blooded sensibilities, the TSA gave the group a choice of a quick public screening or a slower but private one away from commoners. The royal entourage chose a private screening and the group was taken to an American Airlines' lounge.
Stover said three ''top-notch screeners with VIP experience'' and two supervisors rushed to the lounge to conduct the search.
The need by the princess-to-be to go the powder room caused another flare-up. Ortiz was told her already-searched purse would be searched again on her return from the nonsecure area. She decided to hold it.
That sparked more angry words and exchanges, delaying the process and making the entire royal party late for the flight, which waited.
At one point, Milton Oribe, Iberia's station manager, said he would ignore the required screening, come what may, witnesses said.
Oribe also offered to vouch for the prince and his entourage, adding that he would see to it that the Spanish carrier withdrew from MIA, according to witnesses on the scene.
Mayor Penelas, calling the brouhaha a ''lamentable situation,'' immediately sent a letter of apology to the the royal family and pointed out those doing the screening were federal employees.
''The facts I have received thus far indicate an apparent disregard for protocol and disrespect of His Highness and his delegation. . . . I have called upon our County Manager to conduct a complete investigation into this matter,'' Penelas wrote in a letter dated Thursday.
An official of the Spanish Consulate in Miami said Friday that it will be up to Consul General Javier Vallaure to decide whether a complaint will be sent to the U.S. State Department.
''We don't consider this the proper way to treat our future king; it's a breach of protocol,'' said the consular official, who would not give his name.
Said Stover: ``Had anything happened on that flight to the prince or anyone on that aircraft because we decided to relax our screening processes, that would have been catastrophic and a complete failure on our part.''
I've met more Spaniards who speak English and German, than Englishman who can speak ANY foreign language. Anglophones in general are rather isolationist when it comes to learning other languages.
Correct. They are 30 miles south of downtown in the sh-thole town of Homestead. They pick the advocados and strawberries down there.
In Miami, I met people from EVERY Latin American country, except for Mexico.
I have changed my political affiliation to Monarchist
Glad to hear it! Greetings from one of FR's few other monarchists. Viva el Rey!
I should have categorized further my Monarchist political beliefs: I don't believe in a constitutional monarchy!
The singular problem is finding someone with the character of a Francisco Franco to ascend the throne.
Sending all those congresscritters home and cleaning up Washington DC would be a great assignment.
Since we know that the Spanish will bend over backwards (or forwards, depending on one's choice of metaphor) in response to terrorist threats, it is only logical to consider them security risks in this regard.
Of all the arguments against monarchy, this is the stupidest. What difference does it make what century it is? Spain's monarchy is an integral part of the country's heritage, and a central part of its culture and traditions. To do away with it would be madness.
Let's look at the record of countries that have done away with their monarchies, as you so foolishly suggest. I'll stick to Europe in order to keep this short.
England (1649). Puritan military dictatorship, the prohibition of dancing, music, and theatre, and a genocidal campaign against Irish civilians. Fortunately it only took the English 11 years to realize they'd made a horrible mistake.
France (1792). The Reign of Terror and 23 years of devasting continent-wide war.
Russia (1917). 74 years of Communist tyranny, with some 20 million murdered under Stalin alone, not to mention the Cold War and all the real wars it spawned.
Germany/Austria (1918). The Nazi dictatorship, World War II and the murder of 6 million Jews and millions of others. Yugoslavia, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania (1945-47). 40+ years of Communist dictatorship.
I could go on, but I won't. It ought to be clear that abolishing a monarchy is about the worst thing a country can do. Any conservative, even an American, should be able to see this. But these are only negative reasons. A monarchy provides a non-partisan, apolitical focus for patriotism and a living link to a country's past. Royals perform invaluable charitable services which brighten the lives of countless people. A monarch who inherits his post is more likely to be a decent person than a politician who must scheme his way to the top. These are only some of the reasons why I not only hope that Europe's 10 existing monarchies will last forever, but that at least some of the continent's republics will come to their senses and bring back their kings.
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