Apologies in advance, Kate Middleton. With the Spanish state visit in full swing, we have a brand new royal style crush in Queen Letizia, former journalist and wife of King Felipe VI.
Before marrying the then Prince of Asturias back in 2004, Letizia studied broadcast journalism and worked for a string of European newspapers and news agencies, eventually reporting for Bloomberg and CNN+ and covering major events like 9/11 and the US election, even filing stories from Iraq during the war. Announced in November 2003, her engagement to Felipe came as a surprise to many, as their relationship was a complete secret until this point.
Given her successful high-profile career and her lack of aristocratic roots, it’s easy to draw comparisons between Letizia and one potential royal-in-waiting, Meghan Markle. Meghan, of course, was well-known as the star of TV drama Suits before her relationship with Harry became public knowledge, balancing her acting career with her humanitarian work and her now-defunct lifestyle site The Tig.
However, there’s something else that the two women have in common which might mark them out in more traditional royal circles: both had previously been married before embarking on a royal romance.
Letizia married Alonso Guerrero Pérez, a high school teacher and writer, in a civil ceremony back in 1998, but divorced a year later.
As her first marriage was a civil ceremony rather than a religious one, the Catholic Church didn’t require an annulment in order for Letizia to marry Felipe, and their wedding took place in Madrid’s Catedral Santa Maria de la Real de la Almudena.
In 2011, Meghan married film producer Trevor Engleson, her partner of seven years, in Jamaica. The couple separated in May 2013 and divorced shortly after.
Historically, divorce has proved a sticking point for the British royals: you only need to watch a couple of episodes of The Crown to be reminded that the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret, couldn’t marry the divorced Captain Peter Townsend, while King Edward VIII famously triggered a national crisis when he abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson.
Happily, this is 2017, and the Royal Family now takes a more enlightened view. The fact that Meghan has previously been married has, however, caused some commentators to ask: should the actress become engaged to Prince Harry, would this royal wedding take place in Westminster Abbey, a common venue for such occasions? According to a spokesperson, however, the Abbey ‘follows the General Synod Ruling of 2002. Since then it has been possible for divorced people to be married in the Church of England.’
Despite this, some royal experts believe that the couple might opt for a lower key civil ceremony over the pomp of a Westminster wedding, taking cues from the nuptials of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (both of whom, famously, had been previously married to others).
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