HHer Majesty the Queen Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was born in Oviedo on 15 September 1972, and is the daughter of Jesús Ortiz Álvarez and Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez.
She started school in Oviedo, at La Gesta public school, and later at the Alfonso II Institute. At the age of 14, she moved, together with her parents and sisters, to Madrid, where she finished her secondary education at the Ramiro de Maeztu Institute. She contracted civil marriage in 1999, and divorced a year later.
Her Majesty has 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.
Their Majesties The King and Queen announced her engagement to the then Prince of Asturias on 1 November 2003.
The religious wedding ceremony was held on 22 May 2004 at the Santa María la Real de la Almudena Cathedral of Madrid.
They have two daughters: Infanta Leonor, born on 31 October 2005, and Infanta Sofía, born on 29 April 2007, both in Madrid.
From a very young age, as a student, she also worked at the newspapers La Nueva España and ABC, and at the EFE News Agency, where she worked in international editing during her last year at university. She began her PhD studies in Mexico, where she collaborated with the newspaper Siglo 21.
The Queen's TV career began in the Madrid branch of Bloomberg TV, specialising in the economy, finance and the markets, under the supervision of the EFE News Agency. She was later hired by the private channel formed by CNN and Canal+, CNN+, as a reporter, editor, and broadcaster.
In 2000, she entered Televisión Española, where she worked with the editing team of the news programme Telediario Segunda Edición, and presented Informe Semanal. Later, she presented the morning news programme Telediario Matinal, the special sections on the Euro broadcast during the news programmes, and she was sent as a special correspondent to different countries to report on current events. Following that, she was an editor in the society, education and science department, and later once again joined the editing team of Telediario Segunda Edición, which she co-anchored.
She was awarded the Larra Prize by the Madrid Press Association to the year's most outstanding journalist under 30.
The Queen's priorities are her family and supporting the institutional work of His Majesty the King. Therefore, she takes care of her daughters personally and seeks to harmonise her duties as a mother and her work alongside King Felipe at certain official events.
Furthermore, since 2007 she has her own agenda, which takes place in the framework of the official activities of the Royal Household of His Majesty The King, and of the Secretariat of His Royal Highness The Prince of Asturias. Her main areas of work are children and youth, and, most especially, areas related to their education and health.
In education, her priorities are education between the ages of 6 and 16, and, particularly, promotion and support for Vocational Training.
Promoting reading and reading comprehension as a fundamental pillar for students' intellectual development is another area in which the Queen is working actively, to combat educational failure and early school-leaving.
Another facet of education in which Queen Letizia is involved is the acquisition of healthy habits from early childhood, as she is convinced that good physical and mental health has its foundation in these habits, which will be fully effective if they are promoted in early childhood. Among these healthy habits are nutrition, physical activity and the development of social skills as a weapon against early addictions at critical ages.
In the area of health, the Queen has devoted herself to encouraging and giving visibility to those suffering from infrequent conditions, known as "rare diseases", and their families, and to the fight against cancer. For her commitment to infrequent diseases, in 2010 she was invited by Mrs. Eva Köhler, wife of the German Federal President, to attend a research awards ceremony in Berlin, Germany; this was the first of her activities abroad.
In September 2010, the Queen assumed the Honorary Presidency of the Spanish Association Against Cancer and of its Scientific Foundation. This was the first time she accepted a Presidency of this nature on a permanent basis, and she did so given the impact of this disease on society, and the Association's importance in the fight against cancer through its research, information, prevention campaigns and volunteerism. Hers is an active, committed Presidency. Therefore, besides participating in specific activities in the mentioned areas, she holds regular working meetings to learn about the Association's activities, programmes and projects.
One of the principal endeavours of the Queen is promoting scientific research, not only as regards rare diseases or the fight against cancer, but also to support any initiative facilitating the inclusion of scientific research as one of the basic pillars in the context of education, health and innovation. In other words, always making scientific research a priority and a light to guide a society that is committed to the progress of all.
The world of disability is another of the Queen's interests. Throughout these years, she has provided institutional support for different groups within Spanish society, ranging from visually impaired people to those affected by hearing impairments or by autism spectrum disorders, to name only a few.
In addition to the military activities she attends together with His Majesty the King, the Queen has maintained contact with the military by attending Armed Forces Day, presenting Combat Flags to certain Units, and presiding over a Flag Oath ceremony of the Royal Guard.
Her Majesty accompanies the King on his annual official visits abroad.
