Superstar Couples

Every Monday is “Couple of the Week” day. Either these chosen couples have endured time or shared the most tying moments of their lives and still holding on to each other every day. Why time? Because time is always the deciding factor. Once the couple overcomes years of staying together, the rest will follow. On the other hand, troubles, even failures or unmet expectations, can affect the good-natured harmony of a relationship.
For the first offering, may I present to you Princess Letizia and Prince Felipe of Spain.

When Prince Felipe of Asturias and Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano announced their marriage in 2003, many people were stunned. Felipe had been one of the most eligible royal bachelors in Europe and Letizia was a well-known media personality. She holds a bachelor degree in Journalism and a master’s degree in Audiovisual Journalism aside from working in several prestigious news agencies.
The Spanish press speculated for a while who would be the lucky match for their prince while his own family members shook their headsof his women. A roster of his former girlfriends included a Norwegian model, noblewomen and a US co-ed. But choosing an independent, accomplished journalist as his wife was warmly received by the public. Of course, some relatives raised their eyebrows upon meeting his fiancee. For one, Letizia was a divorcee. The ex-husband was her former university tutor. But it didn’t pose any problem at all as the matrimony wasn’t done in church. In 2004, on a rainy day, Letizia and Felipe made their vows. And on October 31, 2005, a daughter was born, Leonor, who is the heir apparent to the throne of Spain.
The couple met in an uncanny setting. Letizia was known to report complex and difficult issues. She was in the frontlines of Iraq, covered the US presidential elections and documented the September 11. When she was sent to report the sinking of oil tanker Prestige in 2002 following an ecological disaster, the Prince of Spain was there offering his support. Though Felipe and Letizia met a year before through a mutual friend’s party, it was in this place where the two fell in love. Dating followed but the affair was kept secret for months.
After their marriage rumours circúlated surrounding her thin physique underneath designer clothes. The public started to speculate that she was suffering from anorexia. Either it was the pressure of following the strict protocols of being one of the the royals or bearing the next male Spanish monarch. In the end, a law known as equal primogeniture solved the problem of succession. Leonor will succeed his father regardless if she would have brothers.
On February 7, Letizia’s sister, the 31-year-old Erika Ortiz Rocasolano, was found dead in her house she lived in with her daughter Carla. Her suicide shocked the whole nation.
During the funeral the presence of Felipe, holding Letizia’s hand, and the rest of Spanish royals, was a convincing sign that they were behind Letizia during the difficult period of her life. Letizia is set to give birth to a second daughter in May.
On February 14, Letizia along with Felipe resumed her duties visiting Instituto Cervantes after the death of her sister.

Letizia of Spain, Letizia Ortiz, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, Felipe of Spain, Prince of Asturias, Spanish royals