Official Title: Her Majesty, Queen Letizia, Queen Consort of Spain

Place in Order of Precedence: Her husband is King Felipe VI, so she’s the #1 woman in Spain. 

Romantic History: Letizia was married to  Alonso Guerrero Pérez , a writer and a high-school literature teacher, from 1998-1999. She married Felipe, who was then the Prince of Asturias in 2004. Since Letizia's first marriage involved only a civil ceremony, the Catholic Church didn’t consider it “canonically valid” so an annulment wasn’t required to have a Catholic marriage to Felipe. 

Children: Leonor, Princess of Asturias (14) and Infanta Sofía (13)

Why You Want to Have Tea with Her:

Out of all the European Royals Queen Letizia is my top pick for most stylish. She is impeccably dressed and is able to keep her looks both classic and modern. From stunning formal suits to daytime separates and edgy formalwear, her styling is never wrong, and she doesn’t shy away from pattern and texture. She hits the right level of formality for a royal while keeping an edge, and as Queen, she sets the rules so there is no one dictating dress code, skirt length or appropriateness except for her. I think that she has wayyy more fun with fashion than most other senior royals. This style round-up has SO MANY AMAZING LOOKS! 

Letizia marrying Felipe was remarkable as she was the first Spanish-born queen consort since 1878, and the first Spanish queen born as a commoner. She came from a middle-class family  and received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid, followed by a master’s degree in audiovisual journalism. Letizia worked as a journalist before becoming a news anchor at CNN+ and Televisión Española. She and Felipe met at a dinner party and dated in secret for almost a year before they announced their engagement to the public. 

When she married Felipe, it was the first royal wedding in Madrid in nearly 100 years, as his parents had been married in Athens, and his sisters were married in Seville and Barcelona.  When they got married, their titles were Prince and Princess of Asturias, which they kept for 10 years, until Prince Felipe took over the throne early, following a series of financial and other scandals that plagued his father, King Juan Carlos. They are widely regarded as having “steadied the ship” for Spain.