Royal sex cartoon banned
23 July 2007
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A judge has ordered all copies of a magazine that ran a cartoon of Spain's Crown Prince Felipe having sex with his wife Princess Letizia to be confiscated.Judge Juan del Olmo ruled the image, which ran on the front page of weekly satirical magazine El Jueves, was an insult to the royal family.He said on Friday (20.07.07): "The cartoon struck at the honour and dignity of the people represented."The judge also ordered the publishers of the magazine to give him the names of the cartoonists responsible for the derogatory drawing, warning they could face libel action.Slandering or defaming the Spanish Royal Family carries a two-year prison sentence.The cartoon was published after the government announced it would pay couples nearly £1,700 for each new baby born or adopted, in an effort to boost Spain's birth rate.In the cartoon, a smiling Felipe, 39, tells his 34-year-old wife, who is kneeling on the bed in front of him: "Do you realize that if you get pregnant it will be the closest that I come to working in my life!"El Jueves director Albert Monteys Homer said the court ruling was "a direct attack on freedom of expression".
The magazine posted its front-cover image on its website with a statement reading: "We are graphic humorists, and we are conscious of our obligations to what our readers want, which is to explore the limits of freedom of expression."
The royal palace said it had no part in asking for the magazine's withdrawal, but offered no further comment.
Felipe and former TV news anchor Letizia married in 2004. They have two daughters, 20-month-old Leonor and Sofia, who was born in April this year.
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