Queen Letizia of Spain’s unusual rise to royalty: before she married King Felipe, she was a TV journalist who was once married to a high school teacher …
- Having been compared to Meghan Markle, Spain’s first ‘commoner queen’ took the crown when her father-in-law, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated the throne
- Letizia worked for CNN+ and reported on September 11 and the US presidential elections – before being hosted at the White House as queen by Donald Trump and Barack Obama
Letizia’s humble roots
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano grew up in a middle-class family with her parents – a journalist and a nurse – and her two sisters. Letizia studied journalism at university and went on to follow in her father Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez’s footsteps.
She scored jobs at popular TV station 24 Horas and even worked for CNN+ before reporting on massive events such as September 11 and the US presidential elections for Spanish agency news. Little did she know at the time that one day, as queen, she’d be hosted at the White House by former US presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump …
Letizia’s first husband
Letizia and Meghan Markle have more in common than just being pictured outside some of the world’s most famous houses (such as Buckingham Palace and the White House) and being wined and dined inside them after marrying into some of the most powerful families on the planet. They both have ex-husbands who have interesting stories to tell about their former spouses, too.