This morning, ‘King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain’ was a breakout search term on Google. The royal couple have been trending ever since it was confirmed that they will fly over to the UK to attend the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. Now, it appears as though the public want to know more about the Spanish rulers.
Who is Queen Letizia?
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano is the queen of Spain and wife of King Felipe VI. Known as the ‘commoner Queen’, Letizia came from a middle-class background and worked as a journalist before marrying Felipe. Much like the early days of Kate Middleton’s romance with Prince William, tabloid media have jumped on the fact that – despite being very middle-class – she doesn’t come from a long-line of heirs or aristocrats. In fact, her father was a fellow journalist and her mother, a registered nurse and hospital union representative.
Educated in Madrid, Letizia has a journalism degree and masters in audio-visual journalism, going on to work toward a PhD that she never completed. Instead, she got a job at Bloomberg, later moving to CNN+ and then news channel 24 Horas. In fact, she was an anchor on Telediario 2 – the most viewed newscast in Spain – reporting on the 2000 presidential elections and on the ground in New York during the 9/11 attacks. In 2003, she reported on the Iraq war on the ground too.
That all ended when she married Felipe though, announced in late 2003 to the surprise of many. Reports state that the then Prince of Asturias proposed to her with a 16-baguette diamond engagement ring with a white gold trim, while she marked the occasion by giving him white gold and sapphire cufflinks and a classic book.
Letizia has previously been married once before to a high school literature teacher. In possibly the most disconcerting case of art mimicking life a la Pretty Little Liars, her first husband Alonso Perez is said to have courted her for 10 years prior to their 1998 marriage. That means she was just 16 when the courtship began, while he was 26. He wasn’t actually her teacher like Aria and Ezra, but we’re still… uncomfortable. The marriage lasted just one year, but her being a divorced woman was enough to cause controversy when her engagement to Felipe was announced to the world. However, because her first marriage only involved a civil ceremony, the Catholic Church did not consider it valid and therefore didn’t require an annulment to proceed with her marriage.
Their royal wedding, in May 2004, was the first celebrated in the Cathedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid, in nearly a century. Her gown was designed by Spanish fashion designer Manuel Pertegaz.
Who are Queen Letizia's children?
Letizia and Felipe went on to have two daughters, Leonor Princess of Asturias in 2005 – now aged 17 – and Infanta Sofia in 2007, now aged 15. Their daughters are not expected to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
What does Queen Letizia do now?
Having had to step back from journalism in place of royal duties, Queen Letizia’s work mostly focuses on social issues such as children's rights, culture, and education. In 2007, still a princess at the time, she began attending several events alone as her and Felipe’s began to forge their own separate work agendas.
In 2014, Felipe’s father, Juan Carlos I, abdicated the throne (citing personal reasons) after a series of controversies around alleged improper ties to Saudia Arabia business deals – he now lives in self-imposed exile. Felipe VI became king and with that, Letizia the first Spanish queen ‘born a commoner’, as the Spanish tabloids would say.
Now, there’s an alleged row going on inside the Spanish royal family about whether former King Juan Carlos I should attend the Queen’s funeral with them. He is actually Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin, and El Debate report that he received an invitation from the British royal family. However, the Spanish government has urged him not to travel to London; if he did, it would be the first time he has been seen at a royal event since his abdication.
Juan is also awaiting trial in the UK after the High Court ruled that he does not have right to Sovereign Immunity in a case involved the alleged harassment of German businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein who claims he sent Spanish agents to Britain to spy on her. So, as you can imagine the presence of Juan might cause some… drama.
It would certainly take some of the spotlight off King Felipe and Queen Letizia, who is often photographed not just because of her royal status, but because of her impeccable style choices which you can find out more about here.