Before meeting the woman who would finally bear the title of Queen of Spain, Letizia Ortiz, King Felipe VI dated another woman who, at the time, seemed to be the chosen one: Eva Sannum . The Prince of Asturias himself at that time recognized the end of his sentimental relationship with her just 20 years ago this Tuesday , on December 14, 2001, in an informal meeting with a group of journalists. It was the end of a phantomcourtship , since nothing had ever been confirmed, as Zarzuela usually does with the private affairs of the Spanish Royal Family. What had been done was to test public opinion, apparently from the Spaniards about Eva, and the result was so devastating thatDon Felipe ended up giving in for the good of his country.
Was it the fault of the opposition of today’s Emeritus Kings, of the Spanish or of the press The debate is still open in this regard. The fact is that if the love story of Don Felipe and Eva Sannum had taken place today, the result could have been very different.
Eva was a beautiful Norwegian seven years younger than the King who took very little time to steal his heart and become his best companion. A relationship that at that time, the beginning of the 2000s, captured thousands of headlines but that never achieved the approval of the then kings Juan Carlos and Sofia., who did not see with good eyes that the heir lived a love story with a model. Years later -as is life- we had a future Princess of Asturias news presenter, divorced, agnostic (according to co-workers) and with a sentimental past much longer than that of the Norwegian.
Sannum, who was dating our King for four years, was questioned in her day for much less: for being a model, for advertising lingerie and swimwear and also for her sentimental past, because she had a boyfriend, only one, on your resume. Her appearance with a low-cut neckline and a glass of brandy with Felipe de Borbon at the wedding of Haakon and Mette-Marit from Norway on August 25, 2001 opened the box of thunder.The press (pink and not) was baited with her and the reviews were horrible. They even bordered on machismo and cruelty. The contempt for the Norwegian by the most archaic sectors was despicable.
Today Eva Sannum is a consultant for a communication company, lives in Stockholm and is married to the publicist Torgeir Vierdal, with whom she has two children . He leads a completely discreet life and does not exactly have good memories of the Spanish media. As a representative of the public of the Norwegian Press Complaints Committee, in an interview he has said that in “Spain and other countries with large markets for tabloids, the population has been educated over time that famous people are public property “.
In an interview with the Sunday paper of the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten, she was blunt last March about her breakup with Don Felipe: “I am very happy that I did not become queen,” she declared.
