Who were King Felipe VI’s friends?

At the age of 21, then-Prince Felipe won the heart of Isabel Sartorius, 24. The young woman from Madrid was the big gamble as Queen Sofia’s successor, something that would never happen. Isabel had a degree in political science and was part of the Spanish aristocracy, a cocktail that made her the perfect bride for a prince. However, Doña Sofia didn’t think so. Apparently her mother-in-law did everything she could to avoid this youthful romance, and the reason was that none other than her daughter-in-law’s parents, Vicente Sartorius Cabeza de Vaca, Marquis of Mariño, and Isabel Zorraquín, were divorced. † Rumors indicated that Mrs. Sofia couldn’t ignore the divorce of her son’s in-laws† The couple had a relationship for two years and broke up in 1991, Felipe himself confirms. His ex-girlfriend, for his part, moved to London to study art at Sotheby’s Academy, perhaps trying to forget her prince. Fate put Javier Fitz-Jame Stuart y Soto, Count of Montalvo, in her path, whom she married in 1997 and they had a daughter, Mencía, the only one from the marriage. The most curious thing is that Isabel and Doña Letizia met in Zarzuela, and the king’s ex-girlfriend spoke of the queen as follows: “I loved the princess’s character from the first moment. In no time we were sitting with talk to each other as if we had known each other for years.

At the age of 27, the Prince of Asturias was seen on the streets of New York together with Gigi Howard. Marie-Chantal Miller, the current wife and then girlfriend of Pablo de Grecia, Don Felipe’s cousin, was the one who introduced the young couple. Anyway, media pressure can be done with love, and Felipe and Gigi broke up. “You have to be a very special person to deal with the intensity and the invasion of the press, and I wasn’t that person. I’m very discreet and that wasn’t for me. Believe it or not, I’m still afraid of the press. I am amazed that it can continue to arouse interest, but it also frightens me,” Gigi confessed in 2017, who, despite the images of that moment, has never confirmed her relationship with the king.

Just over two decades ago, Felipe announced the end of his relationship with Norwegian model and publicist Eva Sannum. “For strictly personal and specific reasons, everyone will follow their life path. The decision is free and made in mutual consultation”, explained the then prince at the age of 33. The relationship lasted 4 years, but it all ended in a beautiful friendship between the two. In this relationship, rumors again surfaced about the opinion of Queen Sofia and her new daughter-in-law. It seems that Doña Sofia did not approve of the 26-year-old girl, all because of her plebeian heritage and her poor preparation to become Queen of Spain.

Finally, the one who would become the great love of his life arrived, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, a renowned journalist from Televisión Española. This is the first image of the couple, who were already in a romantic relationship, although it hadn’t been made public yet. Letizia was one of the most popular TVE presenters. In the 2003 edition of the Prince of Asturias Awards, the cameras immortalized their greeting at the Hotel Reconquista, unaware that it would become one of the most important royal images of the decade. Though the smile betrayed them, no one knew that the courtship that would end in a wedding had already begun†