Royal Profile: Princess Letizia of Asturias


Princess Letizia of Asturias was born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano  on 15 September 1972 and is the daughter of Don Jesús Ortiz Álvarez and Dona Paloma Rocasolano Rodriguez{Source}. The future Spanish Queen has two sisters: Telma Ortiz Rocasolano ( 1973) and Érika Ortiz Rocasolano (1975-2007){Source}.

She began his studies in Oviedo, in the public school La Gesta and later at the Institute Alfonso II{Source}.  At age 14 he moved with his parents and sisters to Madrid, where she completed her school at Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu{Source}. She received a degree in Information Sciences, Journalism industry, Complutense University of Madrid{Source}. She holds a Master of Audiovisual Journalism from the Institute of Journalism Media Studies{Source}.. During her studies, Letizia worked for the Asturian daily newspaper La Nueva España and later for the newspaper ABC and the news agency EFE{Source}. She was awarded the Larra Prize by the Madrid Press Association to the year's most outstanding journalist under 30{Source}.

She got engaged to Alonso Guerro Pérez after a 10-year courtship, they were civilly married in 1999, and divorced in 2000 {Source}. Her engagement to HRH The Prince of Asturias was announced on November 1, 2003{Source}. The religious ceremony was held on May 22, 2004 at the Cathedral of Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena in Madrid{Source}. It was the first royal wedding in this cathedral, which was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993{Source}. She donned the same diamond and platinum tiara that Queen Sofia wore at her wedding to King Juan Carlos{Source}. After the wedding, she moved with her new husband to his residence, a 3,150 square metres (33,900 sq ft) palace built within the Zarzuela Palace grounds{Source}. With the future King of Spain, they have two daughters{Source}:
Her primary duties are to raise her daughters and support the institutional work of the Prince of Asturias. Therefore, she takes care personally of her daughters, the Infantas Leonor and Sofía, and seeks to harmonize her duties as a mother and her work alongside the Prince of Asturias at certain official events. Since 2007 she has her own agenda, which takes place in the framework of the official activities of the Royal Household of His Majesty The King, and of the Secretariat of His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias. 
Her main areas of work are children and youth, and, most especially, areas related to their education and health. The world of disability is another of the Princess's interests. Throughout these years, she has provided institutional support for different groups within Spanish society, ranging from visually impaired people to those affected by hearing impairments or by autism spectrum disorders, to name only a few.
In September 2010, the Princess assumed the Honorary Presidency of the Spanish Association Against Cancer and of its Scientific Foundation. She has maintained contact with the military by attending Armed Forces Day, presenting Combat Flags to certain Units, and presiding over a Flag Oath ceremony of the Royal Guard. The future Spanish Queen supports Spanish designers, from couturiers such as Felipe Varela and Lorenzo Caprile to Zara and Mango.
In 2006, Letizia received some unfortunate attention over a 'wardrobe malfunction' (a gust of wind blew her skirt up while greeting a crowd atop the Juan Luis Galiardo Theater).
Her interests include: the cinema, the theatre, literature and sports such as ski, sailing (since her wedding to the Prince) and hunting. She hold honors from Spain, Argentina, Chile, France, Hungary, Latvia, Lebanon, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Portugal and Romania.Other Honors she holds are:
  • Favourite Daughter of Oviedo (Hija Predilecta de Oviedo, 2007)
  • Adoptive Daughter of Ribadesella (Hija Adoptiva de Ribadesella, 2004)
  • 'Lazo de Dama' of the Royal Masterhood of Cavalry of Seville, 2008
.
Together, they also represented Spain in other countries: the Princess has traveled 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. Such as when the Pope visited Spain for World Youth Day 2011
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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Profile: Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim of Jordan

Royal Profile: Prince Constantin d'Orléans

Royal Profile: Royal Twins