[1] The Queen performs public commitments representing the Crown, often with her husband, but she is focused on being the patron, president or member of numerous charities and organizations, and she is the visible face of the Spanish international cooperation, often traveling around the world supervising and promoting it.

[2] Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was born on 15 September 1972 at Miñor Sanatorium in Oviedo, Asturias,[3] the eldest daughter of Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez, a journalist, and his first wife, María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez, a chief registered nurse and hospital union representative with a bachelor's degree in art history.

Her maternal grandfather was Francisco Julio Rocasolano Camacho (1918–2015), a mechanic and cab driver in Madrid for over 20 years who was of French and Occitan origin.

[19][20] In August 2003, a few months before her engagement to Felipe, Prince of Asturias, Ortiz was promoted to anchor of the TVE daily evening news programme Telediario 2, the most viewed newscast in Spain.

1962), a school teacher —10 years older than her— who taught Spanish language and literature at the Ramiro de Maeztu Institute of Madrid, where she studied.

[25] After a 10-year courtship, on 7 August 1998 the couple married in a civil ceremony at the City Council of Almendralejo (Badajoz), municipality of origin of Guerrero.

[23] After the divorce, Letizia moved to a small apartment located in the Madrid district of Vicálvaro, which she later gave to her sister Erika and where she lived until her death in 2007.

[40] That same year, Letizia accompanied her husband on several national activities but also in international trips such us the official visits to México in July,[41] Hungary in September,[42] the United States in October,[43] and Serbia in December,[44] as well as receiving the president of the Czech Republic, Václav Klaus, and her wife, Livia Klausová, in Madrid.

They also travelled to Stockholm (Sweden) in April, to inaugurate a new office of the Cervantes Institute,[47] and to Japan in June, where they met the Japanese Imperial Family and to visit the Expo 2005.

[48] Following the birth of Infanta Leonor at the end of 2005, the princess's agenda was reduced, although during the following year, in addition to her national commitments, she accompanied her husband on official trips to Portugal[49] and China.

[50] The second pregnancy, this time of Infanta Sofía, also prevented her from attending some activities[51] but, in October 2006, the Royal Household announced that the Princess of Asturias would have her own official agenda, which would be compatible with that of her husband.

[52] Since then, Letizia performed regular audiences and visits focused on social issues such as children's rights, rare diseases, culture, and education.

[23] The queen consort was present when King Juan Carlos I gave his son, King Felipe VI, the sash of captain general of the Armed Forces (symbolizing the transfer of royal and military power),[59] as well as when Felipe swore before the Cortes Generales to fulfill his duties, protect and defend the Constitution as well as respecting the rights of the citizens and the Spanish regions.

[65] In September 2014, Letizia chaired the Royal Board on Disability, a government agency protected by the Crown whose president is the consort of the reigning monarch.

[67] On 27 October 2014, she travelled to Vienna, Austria to inaugurate an exhibition about Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, which marked her first international solo visit.

However, on 24 March 2015 they had to postponed the visit due to the pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 deliberately crashing the plane in the French Alps,[74] killing 150 people, including 51 Spaniards.

[83] They met the Mexican president, Enrique Peña Nieto, the First Lady, Angélica Rivera, the head of México City, Miguel Ángel Mancera and the leaders of the Congress of the Union.

A palace official subsequently stated that the King and Queen were no longer friends with López Madrid due to his legal issues.

[citation needed] On 22 April 2016, the King and Queen gave audience to Spanish figure skater Javier Fernández after winning the 2016 World Championship (his second consecutive title).

[99] To finish the year, in late November 2016, the King and Queen made a state visit to Portugal, where they met Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister António Costa, among others.

[103] Precisely, in an event with these last guests, the royals learned the initial judicial ruling that declared Iñaki Urdangarin, the King's brother-in-law, guilty of several corruption crimes.

[104] To finish the month, Felipe and Letizia welcomed the Argentine president, Mauricio Macri, and the First Lady, Juliana Awada, during their state visit to Spain.

[108] In mid-July 2017, the Spanish royals made a state visit to the United Kingdom, where they met with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

[110] On 31 October 2018, the Queen witnessed the first public address of her eldest daughter, Princess Leonor, who read the first article of the Spanish Constitution during the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Magna Carta.

but not in those activities tightly related to constitutional responsibilities (such as the working meeting with the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, in 2022, which had to be postponed.

[118][119] For the 2020 Rey Jaime I Awards in Valencia, Queen Letizia presented the award-winners with their gold medals and gave a short speech praising the "talent, effort and generosity" of prize-winners.

[122] After a one-month delay to avoid interfering with the electoral campaign of the 2023 general election, on 25 July 2023 the King and Queen inaugurated the Royal Collections Gallery,[123] a new museum sponsored by Patrimonio Nacional, the government agency that guards the Crown assets.

[125] In late August 2023, she travelled with her youngest daughter, Sofía, to Australia to see the final of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup between Spain and England.

[129][130][131] On 30 April 2024, State lawyer María Dolores Ocaña Madrid was appointed as private secretary to the Queen, being the first woman to hold the office.

[143] On 21 May 2004, the day before her marriage to Felipe, Letizia was appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III.