King Juan Carlos IQueen Sofía Children of the late Duchess of Badajoz: The Duchess of Soria and HernaniThe Duke of Soria and Hernani The Dowager Duchess of Calabria Queen Anne-Marie Queen Sofía of Spain Princess Irene Marina, consort of Prince Michael Doña Sofía (Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica of Greece and Denmark, Greek: Σοφία; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I until his abdication.

Her maternal grandmother, Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia, wrote in her 1965 memoir: "I have always had a particular fondness for her, and esteemed her modesty, understanding and goodness coupled with her candid realism touches with a fine sense of humour.

'"[3] As her family was forced into exile during the Second World War, she spent part of her childhood in Egypt, where she took her early education in El Nasr Girls' College in Alexandria, and South Africa, where her sister Irene was born.

She finished her education at the prestigious Schloss Salem boarding school in Southern Germany, and then studied childcare, music and archeology in Athens.

Sofía was in Greece on a private visit to her brother, King Constantine II, when the 1967 Greek military coup took place.

Queen Sofía has also been a strong supporter of Somaly Mam's Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire, an NGO combatting child prostitution and slavery in Cambodia.

She criticized the military intervention in Afghanistan, where Spanish troops were taking part at the time, defended religious education in schools, and expressed her conviction that gender violence publicity[clarification needed] would encourage new cases to occur.

[15][16][17] In May 2012, Sofía was reportedly refused permission to attend the celebrations for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II by the Spanish government, citing tensions over fishing rights at Gibraltar.

She inspected several development projects around the former Spanish colony that her country's government is funding via the Agencia Española de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID).

[21] Following her husband's abdication as King in 2014, Sofía has focused on her sponsoring activities,[22] spending her time between La Zarzuela and, in the summer months, the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca.

[citation needed] The Queen of Spain was appointed to the Collar of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Charles III as dame on 31 October 1983.