Letizia, Queen of Spain: then and now

A long time has passed since the young beautiful Letizia went on her first date with a man who would become the future King of Spain. From a successful, driven news anchor to the most respected woman in the Kingdom of Spain - we take a look at her journey, her drive and her desire to change to be with the man she loves.

So the story begins with a journalist who, one day, decided to abandon her beloved profession for another kind of love: the love of a (very real) prince named Philip of Bourbon. Her name was Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, the daughter of a journalist and a nurse (also the granddaughter of a Republican taxi driver). She did not follow the stereotypical fairytale path but found her rhythm eventually.

Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano (Oviedo, 1972) became a well-known name in Spain for her journalistic work between the late 90s and the early 2000s. She started on television channels such as Bloomberg and CNN+ to later make the big leap to Spanish Television.

The current Queen of Spain graduated in 'Information Sciences' from the Complutense University of Madrid and very soon began to be successful in journalism. She received the Mariano José de Larra Award for Best Journalist Under 30, awarded in 2000 by the Madrid Press Association. That same year she then joined the Spanish public television.

Letizia had journalism in her blood and did not hesitate to carry out a range of different tasks. She even began to take on a number of roles such as editor, presenter and reporter.

And every day she was streamed into the people's homes on Spanish Television. Among those who saw her was the then heir to the Crown of Spain, Philip. The prince, according to the chronicles, fell in love with the journalist from Asturias in the north of Spain, as soon as he saw her on the screen.

Philip, who at that time was one of the golden bachelors among European royalty, did not hesitate to ask mutual friends to plan a blind date with the journalist. According to common talk in Spain, the journalist Pedro Erquicia was in charge of organising a dinner with mutual friends. The connection between prince and journalist was (they say) instant.

The couple's relationship was not straightforward: Letizia was a divorced woman. She had previously been married for just a year to Alonso Guerrero in 1998, her Literature teacher at school. The conservative Spanish monarchy would normally see this as an obstacle, but the detail was passed by.

And there was, of course, more scandal. When she was younger and completing her journalistic studies in Guadalajara, she went to Mexico for a time. The details were shared with the world. There were those who considered it a scandal that the future queen of Spain had been a stewardess for tobacco brands in Mexico as a way of earning a living. Not ideal.

However, Philip was firm and did not give his parents, the monarchs Juan Carlos and Sofia, the option to intervene in the development of his relationship with Letizia. This had previously happened with other brides of the prince: Isabel Sartorius and Eva Sannum whose romances broken by institutional impositions. Soon Letizia would become Philip's fiancée and occupy the front pages of all the newspapers.

On November 1, 2003, the Royal Palace officially announced the engagement of the Crown Prince and the journalist Letizia Ortiz. Five days later, on November 6, 2003, the marriage proposal took place in the El Pardo palace in Madrid. Many remember the words Letizia said to her fiancé at the time: “let me finish”, asking him (in a non-protocol way) to allow her to explain herself.

Thus began her long learning process to prepare for her future role as consort Princess of Asturias.

A few days before her marriage to Felipe, other royal nuptials took place: those of Frederick of Denmark and the Australian lawyer Mar Donaldson (interesting fact: Prince Philip himself had introduced the pair). This was the official presentation of Letizia before European royalty.

On the day of the royal Danish wedding, Letizia passed the test with flying colours. Of course, the press were analysing her look and outfit with exaggerated detail, but her impressive red dress by Lorenzo Caprile and a wavy updo gave her the air of a classic Hollywood star.

The wedding between Philip and Letizia was held on a rainy day in May, 2004 at the Almudena Cathedral in Madrid. Of course, present were representatives of royalty and personalities from around the world. The bride chose a simple dress with a funnel neck by Pertegaz for her special day.

In her early years as a princess, Letizia struggled to adjust to a world that was often uncomfortable. But she tried. Even trying her hand at skiing, for example, whilst not something that she particularly liked (a hobby that her husband loves).

One of the most important moments of Letizia's life was undoubtedly the arrival of her eldest daughter, Princess Leonor, who came into the world on October 31, 2005.

The birth of her second daughter, Sofía, in April 2007, was overshadowed by one of the most tragic events in Letizia's life: the death of her little sister Erika Ortiz, who took her own life on February 7, 2007. Letizia was just two months away from giving birth.

Letizia was gradually transforming, both in terms of her character, style and in terms of her physique.

In August 2008, the princess underwent, on the recommendation of the medical services of the Zarzuela Palace, a septorhinoplasty. As reported then by the Royal Palace, this was intended to correct her respiratory problems as a result of the deviation of her nasal septum. Although, there were those who suggested that the intervention had more to do with aesthetic reasons. The photo was taken just a few days after the operation, hours after the fatal plane crash of the Spanair plane at the Barajas airport.

The arrival of her role as Philip VI's Queen Consort came in June, 2014. A moment which came to light due to the scandals of her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos for his relationship with his "dear" friend Corinna Larsen, as well as legal scandals of other matters. Many questioned the monarchy itself.

Both Philip and Letizia have been concerned with trying to return the institution to the prestige and brilliance of yesteryear, betting on transparency and a low profile. Almost always keeping distance from all kinds of controversies.

To do this, Letizia has never hesitated to draw strict lines (especially as far as her daughters' education is concerned). The Queen also imposed her work ethic on the palace and decided herself how she would like the role of 'Queen' to be represented.

But some controversy has indeed touched The Queen. Much of the Spanish population remember the episode in April 2018 at the doors of the Palma de Mallorca cathedral. Letizia intervened with the photographers to stop her mother-in-law and her daughters, Leonor and Sofía, having a photo of them taken together. Her mother-in-law insisted on having the photo, but Letizia imposed her criteria: no more photos with her girls.

According to different royal authors, (namely the journalist and writer Pilar Eyre), as a result of this event, King Juan Carlos encouraged his son to divorce Letizia. Not surprisingly, it is common knowledge that the relationship between The Queen and her father-in-law has never been especially good.

As a result, Letizia made Marie Chantal Miller (wife of Pablo de Grecia, Philip's cousin) public enemy number one: Marie had quickly spoken out in defence of Queen Sofía.

This may have been the low point of her popularity, but of course time heals everything. Letizia's firm commitment to her institutional work as Queen of Spain has made people forget about this incident. As her relatives said, she only intended to protect her daughters from excessive exposure excessive in the media anyway.

A good friend of Letizia, Sagrario Ruiz de Apodaca, said in a documentary: “She forgot where she was and who she was. She was wrong, but I think the [press] reaction was excessive. It was an unlucky scene, but it is true that after [the event], the lynching to which Letizia was subjected to, the amount of ink used in the newspapers to write about this, all over the news... I think it was excessive."

Then, the relationship between Letizia and Queen Sofía has had a change of pace as it is clear they happily enjoy summer walks through the streets of Palma (2022). In fact, in her first moments as a princess she said Sofia was an example to her.

The Queen, in addition to being focused on her role as a mother, focusing on the education and protection of the image of her daughters, has really taken to her role as Queen of Spain. She now effortlessly displays the perfectionist and conscientious character she is well-known for possessing.

Although on many occasions it has been her looks that have stolen the spotlight, Letizia is also in the news for her commitment to different causes. Particularly those that have to do with promoting healthy eating, giving visibility to people who suffer from rare illnesses, mental health causes, the fight against cancer and even promoting reading, especially among the youngest of her public.

A lot of time has passed since that first date with the then-Prince. And now Queen Letizia has passed the 51 mark. Five decades has passed, giving her time to live two lives. In one of them, she was a journalist; and now the headlines of the news bulletins she once presented.