Prince Felip became king after his father, Juan Carlos renounced the throne.
Spain was introduced into a new era, and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano became Queen. Queen Letizia wasn’t of royal blood and met her husband, King Felip when she was working back in 2002.
Her not having royal blood has presented the family in the spotlight and many seem to have something to say about this.
King Felipe came to the world on January 30, 1968. He was the only boy in a family of two girls. The monarchy follows the male line and hence he was crowned despite not being the oldest child of former King, Juan Carlos, and former Queen, Sofia of Greece.
The King’s first letter home read, as reported by the Telegraph, “Those whom God has chosen to be kings and to be at the head of the destiny of a country do not have any other choice than to start to understand the importance and the special characteristics of the position because one can say that they start to become adults long before other boys of their age.”
Felipe got a degree in law after serving in Spain’s armed forces for three years.
His mother, Queen Sofia, once said, as reported by The Guardian, “His goal, his only goal, is to serve Spain. It has been deeply ingrained in him that he must be the country’s main servant.”
His wife, Queen, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano had a different plan set for her life. She was born in Oviedo, Spain on September 15, 1972.
She attended a public school and moved to Madrid with her family when she was 14.
After graduating from the University of Madrid as a journalist and earning a master’s degree in Audiovisual Journalism, she started working in newspaper agencies.
King Felipe got to meet Letizia through a journalist friend according to stories.
They got to exchange numbers but didn’t start dating until months after.
In November 2003, king Felipe took a bold step in announcing their engagement and they were all over the tabloids in Spain.
Letizia became one of the few non-royals to get married to a royal.
The royal family didn’t welcome her and King Juan Carlos wanted him to wait another year before getting married to Letizia, but Felipe was having none of it. He threatened to denounce the throne if they didn’t let him marry Letizia.
A member of another Royal family told Vanity Fair, “Felipe went to his father to ask permission to marry c with a letter renouncing his right to the throne in his pocket, and when his father suggested that he wait a year or so to make sure that she was the right girl, he handed him the letter.”
The family is living happily together and Letizia has devoted herself to helping children across Spain.