Podcast Summary

Todo Concostrina: "Acontece que no es poco | Muere Victoria Eugenia, la reina desubicada"

Hosted by: SER Podcast, Nieves Concostrina
Date: April 15, 2024

Main Theme & Overview

This episode centers on the life, death, and historical context of Victoria Eugenia, last queen consort of Spain, whom Nieves Concostrina dubs "la reina desubicada" (the displaced queen). Using her characteristic irreverence and sharp wit, Concostrina explores why Victoria Eugenia was a monarch without a country or true belonging, not truly wanted in either Spain or her native United Kingdom. Beyond the personal, the episode dives into dysfunctional royal dynamics, the repeated misfortunes of the Borbón family, politics, religion, and scandal.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. April: A Cursed Month for the Borbones (01:17–02:55)

• Historical Irony:
  April has been a particularly painful month for the Borbón dynasty:
  • Victoria Eugenia was forced into exile on April 15, 1931; she died, coincidentally, exactly 38 years later, on April 15, 1969.
  • Many other family misfortunes and scandals have erupted in April, including the abdication of Alfonso XIII and much later, the Juan Carlos–Corinna scandal while hunting in Botswana in 2012.
• Quote:
  • "Abril… es un mes de infaustos recuerdos para los habitantes de Borbonia." (Nieves, 05:00)

2. Victoria Eugenia: A Queen Without a Country (01:57–04:04; 06:35–08:07)

• Displacement and Unhappiness:
  Nieves argues that Victoria Eugenia wasn’t a “poor victim,” but that her isolation stemmed from her own opportunistic — and often hypocritical — decisions.
• Never at Home:
  After being rejected by the Spanish, Victoria Eugenia tried to return to England, but neither the government nor the British royal family wanted her back (“no la habían perdonado... para la familia real británica era un engorro” — 07:00).
• Resting Place Issue:
  Nieves imagines the queen must have preferred to rest with her Battenberg kin in the UK, but ended up in Switzerland surrounded by “rancio reyes.”
• Quote:
  • "Esta mujer acabó siendo de ninguna parte y querida por casi nadie. Por eso llamo la desubicada." (Nieves, 02:27)

3. Religious Conversion: Hypocrisy and Humiliation (08:07–10:07)

• Changing Faith for the Throne:
  Nieves denounces the common royal practice of switching religions to secure marriages or thrones, calling it "una hipocresía absolutamente insoportable."
• Abjuration Ceremony:
  Victoria Eugenia had to abjure Anglicanism and become Catholic in a humiliatingly public ceremony — pleasing neither the English nor the Spanish.
• Quote:
  • "La palabra no es convertirse... se llama abjurar. ...Eso se le hizo muy duro a Victoria Eugenia." (Nieves, 09:00)
  • “Los ingleses me criticaron por hacerme católica y los españoles no creyeron que fuera sincera.” (Victoria Eugenia, cited by Nieves, 09:58)

4. Political and Personal Rejection in the UK (10:07–11:44)

• Excuse of War:
  Britain used the outbreak of WWII to tell Victoria Eugenia she was no longer part of the royal family nor their responsibility.
• Familial Disconnection:
  Nieves highlights how royals are quick to redefine family ties when it suits them, and Victoria Eugenia was caught in those technicalities.
• Quote:
  • "Dijeron a Victoria Eugenia que puesto que la guerra estaba a punto de liarse, Gran Bretaña no se hacía responsable de su seguridad ni de las dificultades financieras... Búscate la vida, bonita." (Nieves, 10:55)

5. The Borbón Family Drama at Her Funeral (12:20–15:06)

• Reunited in Exile:
  All Borbóns showed up at the funeral in Switzerland — a rare gathering marked by “tensión de glúteos” and underlying animosity.
• Succession Struggle:
  Tension flared between Juan de Borbón and brother Jaime over who should lead the cortege, representing the ongoing familial power struggle.
• Historical Note:
  The episode gives a powerful vignette of the family’s physical and psychological ailments, as described harshly by Franco — who reminded Juan de Borbón of the “desgracias acumuladas sobre una sola familia.”
• Scathing Quote:
  • "En el entierro de Victoria Eugenia no hubo más muertos de milagro." (Nieves, 14:32)
• Bitter Irony:
  Nieves ends with active irony about the queen’s fate:
  • "En fin, que los cuernos en la plaza y en la cabeza fueron el precio por vivir a gastos pagados." (Nieves, 14:58)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On History and Popular Curiosity: (00:54)

  • "En un sitio era presentación del libro, en otra charla sobre mujeres, pero todo el mundo al final quiere volver sobre lo mismo. ...Lo único que hago es hacerlo de otra manera." – Nieves Concostrina

• On Royal Hypocrisy: (09:00)

  • “Esto es una hipocresía insoportable. Pero bueno, al menos que sepan que nos enteramos.”

• On British Rejection: (10:55)

  • “Búscate la vida, bonita.”

• On Family Tension: (12:50)

  • “Hubo una trifulca y hubo una tensión de glúteos ahí, entre toda aquella aparente borbónica tremenda.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:54 – Discussion on thirst for history, especially little-known aspects
• 01:57 – Introduction to Victoria Eugenia’s death and “desubicación”
• 04:36 – Coincidences and misfortunes of April for the Borbón family
• 06:35 – On where Victoria Eugenia would’ve preferred to live and be buried
• 08:07 - 10:07 – The humiliation of religious abjuration
• 10:13 – Excuses given by UK for sending her away
• 12:20 – The drama of the Borbón family at Victoria Eugenia’s funeral
• 13:26 – Ruthless commentary from Franco about the family’s misfortunes
• 14:58 – Punchline: “los cuernos en la plaza y en la cabeza fueron el precio por vivir a gastos pagados”

Tone and Style

Nieves Concostrina maintains her signature blend of humor, irony, and fierce criticism, using colloquial, expressive language that exposes royal hypocrisy, historical whitewashing, and the absurdities underlying monarchical institutions. The episode is rich in historical anecdotes but also biting towards its subjects.

Conclusion

This episode offers a sharp, entertaining, and critical look at the tragicomic fate of Victoria Eugenia, painting her as a royal who belonged nowhere, and whose life was dictated by her own choices and an unwelcoming family on both sides. Concostrina ties her story to broader patterns of dysfunction and denial within the Borbón dynasty — all told with memorable language, dark humor, and plenty of quotable moments. Even for those unfamiliar with Spanish royal history, the narrative offers rich context and provocative insights.