From an exiled king to a scandalous
divorce, it goes without saying that King Felipe VI's marriage to Queen
Letizia hasn't been a walk in the park. Before she met Prince Felipe, Letizia Ortiz was
already a well-known journalist for Televisión Española and kept pretty busy by traveling
all over the world as a reporter. By 2000, she had two college degrees under her
belt, a ton of newsroom experience, and even earned a special journalism
award before she turned 30. As for the prince himself, Felipe was on a
journey to find love — and the press loved him for it. He dated Isabel Sartorius and model
Eva Sannum before he finally met his wife-to-be. Letizia and Felipe first got to know each
other after their mutual acquaintance, Pedro Erquicia López de Montenegro,
introduced them at a dinner party in 2002, according to ABC. The prince had split up with
Sannum only a handful of months before, but he didn't waste any time getting to know the news
anchor. The pair hit it off, and with the way they still look at each other 20 years later, we're
not surprised that it was love at first sight. Felipe and Letizia kept their relationship a
secret until they announced their engagement in 2003. The two apparently did a good
job of hiding their private life since there wasn't a lot of evidence of their
romance and the media was shocked when their relationship was exposed. According
to CNN, Felipe told reporters at the time: "We present ourselves here in love, committed, with conviction and full of hope and,
of course, devoted to serving Spain." Felipe wowed the world not
just with his announcement, but also with the engagement ring he gave
his bride-to-be — a white gold band that contains sixteen diamonds. According
to The Express, it's worth £20,000. "Daaaaaaaaamn!" Interestingly, the outlet also reports
that Letizia hasn't worn the ring in public since 2012, which has stirred
plenty of conjecture about how she really feels about the extravagant
symbol of her husband's love. The next hot gossip to hit the press was Letizia's
status as a divorcee. As it did with Meghan Markle, this piece of news brought up all kinds
of questions about the propriety of Letizia's marriage to Felipe. She was previously married
to writer Alonso Guerrero Pérez for a short time before their divorce in 1999. Because she was
married through a civil ceremony the first time around — rather than a full-on Catholic ceremony
as the Spanish royals traditionally do — Letizia was able to marry Prince Felipe without getting
an annulment, according to The Globe and Mail. Alonso Guerrero Pérez also gained a boost in
media attention after the royal engagement was announced, something he's apparently
been frustrated about ever since. In 2019, while discussing his newest book
and new relationship, he told Hola!: "With other authors, normally they're asked
about their books. I'm always asked about the queen. It's uncomfortable, it's strange, when
you want to explain your vision of the world, and you're being asked about that topic instead." It appears the crown, aka King Juan Carlos I,
was also caught off guard by Felipe's choice of bride. Based on "The Court of Felipe VI" —
the Spanish royal family tell-all book — King Juan Carlos was not a fan of Letizia. The
former king supposedly told friends that his new daughter-in-law was "the worst thing that
happened to [the royal family] in many years." He also allegedly referred to her as "the maid" and
claimed she was out to "destroy the monarchy." "...Right." According to the tell-all: "The master never liked the arrival
of a journalist in a place that had traditionally been an opaque
haven from the fourth estate." Felipe and Letizia have seen less and
less of Juan Carlos over the years, due to his abdication in 2014. Following his father's
formal resignation and departure from the country, Felipe immediately took up the role of king.
Queen Letizia rules by his side to this day. Royal weddings are always a big deal,
and Felipe and Letizia's ceremony was no exception. At least 25 million people
in Spain tuned in to watch the event, which was over half of the
entire population at the time! It was also one of the biggest public events
since the fatal terrorist train bombings in Spain earlier that year, which took the lives
of 193 people and injured more than 1,800. Spaniards like Rosa Coral saw the day as an
emotional reset. She told The Daily Mail: "This is a breath of fresh air after the
attacks we suffered. We need to get past this." From head to toe, the bride was decorated
with assorted historical accessories, regal embroidery, and a "cascading
bouquet" full of secret symbolism, according to Casa Real. But when the time
came for Letizia to walk down the aisle, it began to rain. Royal expert Mábel
Galaz wrote in her book, "Real Letizia": "It always rains on the most important days
of Letizia's life. The day of her wedding with Felipe, the day of the birth of her daughter
Leonor, the day she buried her sister Érika." For Felipe and Letizia, it's all about the
power suits — power suits for getting engaged, baptizing babies, and visiting hospitals.
Seeing as Letizia was a news anchor before she became queen, it's not a shocker that
she prefers business attire. In 2022, she made headlines for matching her
husband with her own pinstripe blazer. When they're not rocking the presidential
aesthetic, they both have special royal decorum to wear. Together, they own sashes
in a variety of colors, each of which represents a different honor, title, or order
bestowed on them by the crown. For example, Felipe received a sash from his father during
the abdication ceremony that represents the Captain-General. Letizia wore a hanging
cross-like pin on a blue striped sash for Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's
75th birthday celebration in 2015. Every family has their drama and baggage —
even the Spanish royals. It all started when the family patriarch, King Juan Carlos, was
discovered to have injured himself during a 2012 elephant hunting trip in Africa. According
to The Guardian, Spanish citizens were up in arms because taxpayer money was funding the
luxuriously expensive trip, which took place in the middle of a recession. The World Wildlife
Fund, a conservation organization, was also quick to distance itself from the king by stripping
him of his status of "honorary president". Things only got worse from there.
King Juan Carlos' daughter, who has since been stripped of her title,
got caught up in a money laundering scandal through her husband. It wasn't long before
the monarch decided to step down in 2014. In 2020, he was still under investigation
for alleged tax fraud, something his son has tried to distance himself from.
Royal expert Pilar Eyre told Euronews: "Whatever Felipe does, he is
always embarrassed by his father." "Six years after the abdication of Juan Carlos, more and more people are calling for his son,
Felipe VI, to be the last king of Spain." With Letizia at his side, the new
king has made an effort to fix the monarchy's image. On their official
website, there's even a dedicated tab for "Transparency" where anyone can view or
request information about the crown's expenses. Becoming a princess, and later, the Queen of Spain
was not an easy task for Letizia. For one thing, she had to give up the journalism career
she worked so hard to obtain. Secondly, as a commoner, she had to make many adjustments to
fit royal protocol. According to royal journalist Mábel Galaz, Letizia struggled with the
transition. She told The Limited Times: "She used to say what she thought, [but] because
of her profession and her character, she began to see how she could not say anything. My
conclusion is that she was a rebellious princess." However, once Letizia discovered how
she could make a difference as a royal, she apparently began tackling the
challenge of change. Galaz explained: "[Former queen] Sofía was old school: go to a
function, shake hands, smile, pick up a bouquet of flowers ... [Letizia] knows that the monarchy
has to reinvent itself and be more of a citizen." Since Letizia took up the mantle
as an impetus for modernization, she's used her royal status to help lift up
those in need and highlight areas of society that could use some improvement. She has placed a
particular emphasis on science, as her biography states that one of her main endeavors as
queen is "promoting scientific research". Within a few years of their wedding, Felipe and
Letizia had two daughters. Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía make up the next generation
of Spanish royalty, and they've got their work cut out for them. Princess Leonor was named
the official heir to the Spanish throne when she was just 8 years old and took up her official
royal duties after giving a speech when she was 13 years old. She is currently enrolled in
a private school abroad and, honestly, it looks like Hogwarts. Meanwhile, Sofía is wrapping up
her time at a primary school closer to home. In 2020, Leonor's parents made it very clear
what their expectations are regarding their elder daughter's future. According to a report
by Diario de Mallorca, when Leonor was asked the infamous question "What do you want to be
when you grow up?" Letizia responded with, "What she has to, not what she wants." The weight of this sentiment rang true in
early 2018 when Felipe presented Leonor with the Order of the Golden Fleece at the
royal palace in Madrid. According to PopSugar, this is a symbolic step towards
her eventually taking over the responsibilities of the throne. Felipe
emphasized that the two girls would have the support of their entire family
behind them during the speech, saying: "Know that you have the support of many
people who want the best for Spain, for the crown and for you. Your
family will always be at your side."
