Queen Letizia of Spain
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| Letizia Ortiz | |
|---|---|
 Letizia in 2012 | |
| Queen consort of Spain | |
| Tenure | 19 June 2014 – present |
| Born | 15 September 1972 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain |
| Spouse | Felipe VI of Spain (m. 2004) |
| Issue | Leonor, Princess of Asturias Infanta Sofía of Spain |
| House | House of Bourbon (by marriage) |
| Father | Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez |
| Mother | María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (Spanish pronunciation: [leˈtiθja]; born 15 September 1972) is the Queen of Spain as the wife of King Felipe VI, who became king on 19 June 2014 on the abdication of his father Juan Carlos I.[1] Before her marriage to Felipe, Letizia was a journalist and news anchor.
Family
Letizia was born in Oviedo, Asturias. She is the eldest daughter of Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez, a journalist, and his first wife, María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez, a registered nurse and hospital union representative.[2] She has two younger sisters, Telma (b. 1973) and Érika (1975 - 2007), whose death was widely reported by press as due to an intentional prescription drug overdose.[3]
Her parents divorced in 1999 and her father remarried on 1 September 2000 in Madrid on 18 March 2004 to fellow journalist Ana Togores, born ca. 1955.[4]
Letizia's paternal grandparents were José Luis Ortiz Velasco (ca. 1923 – 2005), a commercial employee at Olivetti,[5] and María del Carmen "Menchu" Álvarez del Valle (born in ca. 1928), a radio broadcaster in Asturias for over 40 years. Her maternal grandparents are Francisco Julio Rocasolano Camacho (born in 1918), a mechanic and cab driver in Madrid for over 20 years,[6] and half-Filipino Enriqueta Rodríguez Figueredo (1919 – 2008);[7] by her maternal grandfather she is of French and Occitan origin.[8]
Although her mother came from a working-class family, on her paternal grandfather's side[citation needed] English-speaking newspapers have suggested that she is a descendant of an untitled family descended from medieval nobility who served as Constables of Castile.[9]
Education and career
Letizia attended La Gesta School in Oviedo, before her family moved to Madrid, where she attended high school at the Ramiro de Maeztu High School.[10] She completed a Bachelor's Degree and a Licentiate's Degree in Sciences of the Information, in the branch of Journalism, at the Complutense University of Madrid, as well as a Master's Degree in Audiovisual Journalism at the Institute for Studies in Audiovisual Journalism.[11]
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Extended royal family
Children of the late Duchess of Badajoz:
The Duchess of Soria and Hernani
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During her studies, Letizia worked for the Asturian daily newspaper La Nueva España and later for the newspaper ABC and the news agency EFE.[10][11] After completing her studies, she spent some time in Guadalajara, Mexico, working at the newspaper Siglo XXI. After returning to Spain, she worked for the Spanish version of the economic channel Bloomberg before moving to the news network CNN+.[11]
In 2000, she moved to TVE, where she started working for the news channel 24 Horas. In 2002, she anchored the weekly news report programme Informe Semanal and later the daily morning news programme Telediario Matinal on TVE 1.[10][11] In August 2003, a few months before her engagement to Felipe, Letizia was promoted to anchor of the TVE daily evening news programme Telediario 2, the most viewed newscast in Spain.[citation needed]
In 2000 Letizia reported from Washington, D.C. on the presidential elections. In September 2001 she broadcast live from Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks in New York and in 2003 she filed reports from Iraq following the war. In 2002 she sent several reports from Galicia in northern Spain following the ecological disaster when the oil tanker Prestige sank.[citation needed]
First marriage
Letizia married Alonso Guerrero Pérez, born in Mérida on 12 November 1962, son of Juan Francisco Guerrero N and wife María de los Dolores Pérez Díaz, a Licentiate in Philosophy from the University of Extremadura, a writer and a high-school literature teacher, on 7 August 1998, in a simple civil ceremony at Almendralejo, in Badajoz, after a 10-year courtship.[12] The marriage was dissolved by divorce in 1999. He is now married to María del Carmen Astero Martín, a teacher.[13]
Second marriage and children
On 1 November 2003, to the surprise of many, the Royal Household announced Letizia's engagement to the Prince of Asturias.[11] Afterwards, she moved to live in a wing of Zarzuela Palace until the day of her wedding.[14] The Prince of Asturias had proposed to her with a 16-baguette diamond engagement ring with a white gold trim. She marked the occasion by giving him white gold and sapphire cufflinks and a classic book.[15]
The wedding took place on 22 May 2004 in the Cathedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid.[16] It was the first royal wedding in this cathedral, which was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. It had been nearly a century since the capital celebrated a royal wedding, as the prince's parents married in Athens, and his sisters, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, married in Sevilla and Barcelona respectively.
Letizia's bridal gown was designed by Spanish fashion designer Manuel Pertegaz, her bridal shoes by Pura López and the veil was a gift from Felipe to his bride which was made of off-white silk tulle and hand-embroidered with beautiful details.[17]
As Letizia's previous marriage involved only a civil ceremony, the Catholic Church does not consider it canonically valid and therefore did not require an annulment to proceed with a Catholic marriage to the Prince of Asturias.[18]
Letizia and Felipe have two daughters: Leonor, Princess of Asturias, born on 31 October 2005, and Infanta Sofía, born on 29 April 2007. The family lives in a residence located a few dozen metres from the Palace of Zarzuela.[citation needed]
Role as Princess of Asturias
Letizia joined from the beginning the duties of her husband and travelled extensively through Spain representing the King. They also represented Spain in other countries: the Princess has travelled along with the Prince to Jordan, Mexico, Hungary, the Dominican Republic, Panama, the United States of America, Serbia, Brazil, Uruguay, Sweden, Denmark, Japan, China and Portugal. She also greeted, along with other members of the royal family, international dignitaries. Letizia also attended foreign royalty gatherings in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, for the silver wedding anniversary of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, as well as the 40th birthday celebrations of the Prince of Orange.[citation needed]
Her solo agenda was announced in 2006, shortly after the announcement of her second pregnancy. Letizia has performed a couple of audiences and her work will focus on social issues such as children rights, culture and education. In late 2007, her solo agenda started to grow in the quantity of events she performed by herself and Felipe's and Letizia's agendas became more distinct and separate.[citation needed]
Letizia supports Spanish designers, from couturiers such as Felipe Varela and Lorenzo Caprile to Zara and Mango.[19]
Titles, honours, and arms
At the time of her marriage to Prince Felipe, Letizia was appointed to the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III as dame on 21 May 2004.[20] Since then, Letizia has received different appointments and decorations by foreign states and other Spanish honours.
On 19 June 2014, Letizia became Queen of Spain; as such, she enjoys the style of Majesty.[21] She is the first Spanish-born queen consort since Mercedes of Orléans, the first wife of Alfonso XII.[citation needed] She is also the first commoner-born Spanish queen.[22]
Arms
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From 2004 to 2014 The coat of arms used as princess was the whole differenced with a label of three points Azure (used as difference of the Spanish heir-apparent) and the crown as Spanish heir-apparent, it had four half-arches (with Crown's arches differenced as consort).[23][24] |
Notes
References
- ^ "Coronation of Prince Felipe to take place on June 18". El Pais.
- ^ "Paloma Rocasolano, enlace sindical" (in Spanish). ES: Diario de Navarra.
- ^ "Una muerte por ingestión de pastillas". El País (in Spanish) (impresa ed.). ES. 9 February 2007.
- ^ "Jesús Ortiz, el discreto consuegro del Rey publisher=Diario de Navarra" (in Spanish). ES.
{{cite web}}: Missing pipe in:|title=(help) - ^ "Jesús Ortiz: 'Como abuelo me siento emocionado'". El Periódico (in Spanish). Aragón, ES.
- ^ "Birth date of her maternal grandfather". El Mundo (in Spanish). ES.
- ^ "Birth date of her maternal grandmother". El Mundo (in Spanish). ES. 2008.
- ^ "Ancestry of Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano". Wargs.
- ^ "We're all princesses now: The rise of the middle-class monarchy". Daily Mail. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ^ a b c d e The Royal Household of His Majesty the King – Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias[dead link]
- ^ "Prefiere los pantalones a la falda". Diariode Navarra.
- ^ Full name
- ^ "Boda Real – Palacio de la Zarzuela". El Mundo.
- ^ "Crown jewels: The fabulous rings which sealed the love of Europe's royal couples". HELLO! magazine. UK.
- ^ http://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/2004/07/30/spainnuptials/
- ^ www.arabiaweddings.com
- ^ http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/crown-princess-letizia-of-spain/
- ^ "Princess Letizia's Wardrobe". Princess Letizias Wardrobe.
- ^ Template:Es icon [1] BOE 04-05-22, Spanish Official Journal (Retrieved 31 October 2008)
- ^ "Casa de Su Majestad el Rey de España - Her Majesty the Queen Letizia". Casa de Su Majestad el Rey.
- ^ Kolirin, Lianne (19 June 2014). "Spain welcomes new King Felipe VI as Letizia dazzles as first 'commoner' Queen". Express. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ^ a b c [2]
- ^ a b c [3]
- ^ Template:Es icon Armas de Doña Letizia, Revista Internacional de Protocolo, ISSN 1135-9692, Number 33, 2004, pp. 64–65
- ^ Template:Es iconLabel’s position correction by RIAG, Registro Internacional de Armas Gentilicias. (Retrieved 17 June 2009)
External links
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- Use dmy dates from September 2012
- 1972 births
- Living people
- People from Oviedo
- House of Bourbon (Spain)
- Spanish people of Filipino descent
- Spanish people of French descent
- Spanish monarchy
- Spanish royal consorts
- Spanish television presenters
- Spanish journalists
- Princesses of Asturias
- Princesses of Girona
- Princesses of Viana
- Duchesses of Montblanc
- Countesses of Cervera
- Ladies of Balaguer
- Complutense University of Madrid alumni