Royal families always attract much attention and people are always eager to know more about their lives, therefore, their every move is closely monitored by the media. This is one of the reasons why the members of these families often make the headlines of influential magazines.
Now if you think that the British Royalty has gone through so much during the recent years, it’s in fact every royalty that deals with their own issues despite all the money and the fame.
In 2014, Spain welcomed a new king. Prince Felipe took the throne after his father, King Juan Carlos, abdicated following a number of scandals. The former ruler found himself in a middle of a corruption investigation and his reputation took a massive blow. Shortly after, in 2012, he went on an elephant hunting trip to Botswana, which made Spanish people angry. It was in 2014 that King Juan Carlos decided to step down from the throne and pass it down to Prince Felipe.
Although he has two older sisters, Felipe became the head of a monarchy because at the time monarchy was passed through the male line. This law is now changed which makes King Felipe’s older daughter his heir apparent.
King Felipe enjoys enormous popularity in his homeland, but he was once ready to walk away from the monarchy for the sake of love.
King Felipe has had quite a childhood. He and his family traveled a lot and he got to learn plenty about other countries and cultures. He studied in Canada, at the Lakefield College School in Ontario, in 1984 and 1985. After he returned home, he had undergone three years of military training in Spain’s armed forces academy. Following this training, King Felipe earned a law degree in Madrid and later, a Master’s Degree in international relations from Georgetown University in Washington DC.
He has been heavily involved in the mission to serve his people the best he can. At the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Felipe competed in sailing and was the flag bearer for his country’s team.
At the time he was doing all this, his future wife, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, was working as a journalist. She earned two degrees, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Master’s Degree in Audiovisual Journalism from the Institute for Audiovisual Journalism Studies. Letizia became a much-known and much-loved face in Spain. She was the anchor for the nightly news program Telediario, and even covered the 2000 U.S presidential election.
All in all, she has had a very successful career in her field when she first met the future king.
Apparently, Felipe wanted to meet Letizia in person and he managed to get to her through a mutual journalist friend. She then gave him her number but they didn’t start dating until few months later.
At the beginning, they kept their relationship a secret, but the public learned they were dating after they were spotted vacationing together in Felipe’s royal residence in Mallorca.
In 2003, they announced their engagement.
However, rumors were that Felipe’s father wasn’t happy with the relationship. Letizia was a divorcee and didn’t have a royal blood. Sources reported at the time that Juan Carlos called his future daughter-in-law “the enemy within.” He asked his son to postpone the engagement for a year and think thoroughly about his choice.
Felipe on the other hand was determined to marry Letizia no matter what it took.
“Felipe went to his father to ask permission to marry with a letter renouncing his right to the throne in his pocket,” a member of another Royal family told Vanity Fair.
“And when his father suggested that he wait a year or so to make sure that she really was the right girl, he handed him the letter.”
Felipe’s mother told Juan Carlos: “You have no choice. If you don’t acquiesce, it will be the end of the monarchy.”
King Felipe and Queen Letizia have two precious daughters together, Leonor and Sophia.
The family tries to lead a normal life. As the king focuses all his energy to serve the people the best that he can, Queen Letizia is devoted to helping children across Spain get education. She also helps children who suffer from rare diseases.
This family is adored by its people because of their humble personalities and the ordinary life they tend to live.