Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Letizia, Princess of Asturias
Her Royal Highness Letizia, Princess of Asturias, (Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano de Borbón), styled HRH The Princess of Asturias (born September 15, 1972), is the consort (May 22, 2004-present) of Felipe, Prince of Asturias. Before becoming a member of the Spanish royal family, she worked as a journalist and television presenter in Spain.
Her Royal Highness Doña Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano de Borbón, Princess of Asturias, Princess of Viana and Gerona, Duchess of Montblanch, Countess of Cervera, Lady of Balaguer was born in Oviedo, capital of Asturias province, Spain. Letizia took classes in communications at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and later did a Masters degree in audiovisual journalism.
Letizia spent some time in Mexico, working at the newspaper Siglo XXI. She later worked as a journalist in the daily newspaper La nueva España, ABC, the newsagency EFE, and the television channels Bloomberg, CNN+ (Spain) and TVE.
As a journalist Letizia reported on some of the major events of the early 21st century. In 2000 she reported from Washington, DC 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.
Late August 2003 Letizia was promoted to become an anchor person of the TVE daily news program Telediario-Noticias, a programme that is aired daily at 9pm CET.
Letizia married Alonso Guerrero y Pérez, her high-school literature teacher, in 1998, at Almendralejo , in Badajoz. The marriage was dissolved by divorce in 2002. Because she hadn't had a Catholic wedding ceremony for her first marriage, the Roman Catholic Church, still a major influence in the country, did not object to her marrying Felipe. When Felipe takes the throne, Letizia will become the first divorced commoner in history to become Queen of Spain.
The wedding between Letizia Ortiz and Prince Felipe was announced on November 1, 2003, the day after her last newscast at TVE. The wedding took place in the Cathedral Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid, Spain, and was a royal first for this cathedral, which was consecrated by the Pope in 1993. It has been nearly a century since the capital celebrated a royal wedding, as the King and Queen had married in Athens and the prince's siblings, Infanta Elena and Infanta Cristina, married in Seville and Barcelona respectively.
Since the marriage, however, photographs have been published that show that the new Princess of Asturias has become alarming thin -- Gala magazine published startling photographs of the princess in March 2005 showing the elegantly dressed royal exhibiting frail arms, sharp shoulder blades, and sunken cheeks -- an indication, observers state, perhaps of anorexia. In an unusual move, the Spanish Royal House has denied the illness. She also is rumored to be pregnant, which has not been confirmed.
See also
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