Felipe, Prince of Asturias & Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano: 22 May 2004

[Dennism]

BBC

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe has married ex-TV anchorwoman Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano in a sumptuous ceremony.

Now Princess Letizia of Asturias, she becomes the first commoner in Spanish history to be in line to be queen.

Driving rain did not deter thousands of well-wishers who lined Madrid's streets decked with flowers and flags.

Nerves are still on edge after the 11 March bombings and security is tight. Around 20,000 police are on patrol and airspace is closed for the ceremony.

Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon said the wedding was "just what Madrid needs following the worst suffering Madrid has experienced in decades".

Almost 200 people died in the co-ordinated bombings in March, which have been blamed on Islamic militants.

Elite congregation

More than 1,500 VIPs gathered at the cathedral to watch Ms Ortiz walk up the aisle, accompanied by her father, who is also a journalist.

Ms Ortiz's bridal gown, created by veteran Spanish designer Manuel Pertegaz, had a tightly fitting bodice with a turned-up collar and a sweeping skirt and train.


Prince Felipe wore a navy blue uniform with braided epaulets, a light blue sash and medals of honour.

In a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony, the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, pronounced the couple husband and wife.

The cream of the world's royalty attended the ceremony, with guests including Britain's Prince Charles and Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito, as well as other VIPs such as former South African President Nelson Mandela.

Four hundred guests attended a pre-wedding dinner at the Pardo royal palace, where later on Saturday guests at the reception will feast on a 2m-high wedding cake and wash it down with more than 1,000 bottles of champagne.

Victims remembered

Prince Felipe and Ms Ortiz asked that their wedding mass be dedicated to the victims of the attack.

After the ceremony they paid their respects at a church close to the Atocha train station, which bore the brunt of the bombings.

Money due to be spent on pre-wedding parties is instead going to a charity set up for the victims, and a spectacular wedding night show was cancelled out of respect.

Heavy security is keeping well-wishers at a distance from the cathedral and two F-18 fighter jets patrolled the skies, while Nato provided an Awacs surveillance plane for the ceremony.

Second time round

The prince's engagement to the 31-year-old divorcee was widely welcomed when it was announced in November. Spain's gossip columnists had speculated for years on the lovelife of one of Europe's most eligible royal bachelors.

An earlier relationship with a former Norwegian lingerie model had been widely criticised.

Ms Ortiz's marriage to the prince was not opposed by Spain's Roman Catholic church because her first wedding was not held in a church.

Millions of people around the world were expected to watch the ceremony on television, making it Europe's biggest royal wedding since Prince Charles married Diana Spencer in 1981.

However, the wedding has drawn protests from Spain's republicans who are angered by the extravagance of the event.

[GrandDuchess]

Alexandria,

Picture of Princess Theodora & Prince Nicholaos arriving to the cathedral

[Dennism]

Cnn.com


MADRID, Spain -- The heir to the Spanish throne has married a former television presenter in the country's first royal wedding in nearly a century.

The archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouco Varela, pronounced Crown Prince Felipe and Letizia Ortiz husband and wife after they exchanged vows Saturday morning at Almudena Cathedral in Madrid's old quarter.

With the wedding, Ortiz is now Princess Letizia of Asturias -- the first commoner in line to be Spain's queen, The Associated Press reported.

More than 1,400 guests filled the cathedral, including Britain's Prince Charles, former South African President Nelson Mandela and Jordan's Queen Rania.

Onlookers, some of whom had camped out on the streets in the square outside the church, were drenched in heavy rain as the bride arrived at the cathedral.

In his homily, Rouco Varela urged the couple not to be intimidated by the enormous responsibility of being heirs to the Spanish throne.

"Fear not these extraordinary demands," AP quoted him as saying. "You are not alone in your path. Their majesties the king and queen of Spain, the royal family, your relatives and loved ones, the good people of Spain are with you."

Ortiz, 31, wore an off-white gown with a flowing silk veil and a 15-foot (4.5-meter) train embroidered with heraldic symbols.

She also wore the same diamond and platinum tiara that Greek-born Queen Sofia wore at her wedding to King Juan Carlos in 1962 in Athens.

Felipe, 36, wore a crisp navy blue uniform reflecting his status as a Spanish army major, with braided epaulets, a light blue sash and medals of honor from the army, navy and air force.

"Letizia, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity to you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," Reuters quoted the prince as saying in a traditional exchange of vows.

Tens of thousands of people lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the new princess, and many others crowded on balconies of nearby buildings.

After the wedding, the newlyweds waved to the crowds as the couple rode through the streets of Madrid in a vintage, black armor-plated Rolls-Royce.

The motorcade passed the "Forest of the Absent," a grove of potted olive and cypress trees honoring the more than 190 people killed in the March 11 terrorist attack in the Spanish capital.

The procession ended at a church where Princess Letizia, honoring Spanish royal tradition, left her bouquet to pay homage to a statue of the Virgin Mary.

Despite the wedding celebrations, the Madrid train bombings were still on people's minds, including the royal family's.

"When March 11 happened, they were very close to us so we like that a lot. We like that the royal family has been with us," says one Spanish woman.

The royal family cried at the state funeral for the bombing victims at the Almudena Cathedral just two months ago

Last week, the wedding couple went to the Atocha station, hard hit in the commuter train attacks, and then to a school to meet children whose parents died in the bombings.

The couple canceled the bachelor party and bridal shower out of respect for the bombing victims.

They've also asked Madrid to forget the planned street dance, and instead give the money for the event to a victims' charity.

One million flowers were planted for the wedding, and state television broadcast the festivities live to an estimated 1 billion viewers around the world.

Some say the wedding hoopla could actually help the Spanish capital heal some of the wounds wrought by the terror attacks.

The signs are there, with about 300,000 people hitting the streets each night this week to take in the views of some of the capital's monuments that have been illuminated especially for the wedding.

"The only thing that can justify this is to give the people a moment to party, and a way to defy the fear of terrorism. In other words we'll have life in all its splendor," said Jose Garcia Abad, the director of El Siglo magazine.

The city mounted what was described as its biggest security operation for the wedding.

More than 23,000 police and security forces were pressed into service for the event, which was billed as Spain's "wedding of the century."

Airspace over the city was closed, and F-18 fighter jets and two AWACS planes on loan from NATO monitored the skies.

The ceremony was the first royal wedding in Spain since that of the prince's great grandfather, King Alfonso XIII, in 1906.

The prince's father, King Juan Carlos, and grandfather, Juan de Borbon, married abroad during the rule of Gen. Francisco Franco.

[Karena]

Originally posted by Dennism@May 22nd, 2004 - 3:36 pm
From Corbis

Märtha Louise and Ari Behn

Is anyone else moderately frightened by her outfit?

[micas]

Well, i don't have much to say.
I see the allllllllllll wedding in TV more than one time. We portuguese take the wedding very serius.We are the contry with more jornalist.

I love all the wedding and Letizia dress is SUBERB.

Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS TO ALL MEMBERS FOR THE WONDERFUL FOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Angel S.]

Originally posted by Lyonnaise@May 22nd, 2004 - 8:23 am
I'm very disappointed to read so many messages comparing this wedding to the one in Denmark: it's not as glamorous, they're not holding hands, they're not smiling and so on.

Can we for one day just let Letizia and Felipe have their moment? This wedding is nothing compared to the Danish wedding. I would like to have seen what the Danish wedding would have looked like had there been a bombing in Copenhagen AND newspaper reports saying horrible things about Mary AND rain the moment the bride is arriving.

Letizia and Felipe have had to endure so much to get here. From the photos and (brief) video streams that I've seen, they looked very VERY nervous, they also looked very VERY much in love.

Let's put the Danish wedding in the back of our minds for just a few hours and concentrate solely on this new couple.. please

Yes I agree there were many factors that made this wedding very different.

The horrible incident in Madird in March.

The rain made it nearly impossible for the crowds to enjoy.

The terror threat made it so they had to use a bullet proof car.

And the kiss was timid because it's not the custom for Royals in Spain to kiss in public.

Besides she did seem very stressed. I'll bet that dress was heavy(and those heels!), the weather humid & the TV reports here said that mid-way through the lunch she & Felipe made an exit which was followed by the King. It was said that the guests all wondered where they had gone but that it was because Letizia wasn't feeling well. I felt very bad for her because I had a similar incident once and it was not fun. I had to be carried out, covered so no one would see me & taken home. I then spent the next 24 hours vomiting & feeling horrible. I hope she wasn't feeling as bas as I was. Sometimes the stress & nerves get to you.

[Dennism]

Originally posted by Angel S.@May 22nd, 2004 - 8:06 pm
the weather humid

Often is the case when it´s raining that you go into an opened building and it is even worse in there. And they said that it was quite humid in the cathedral. Too bad. But it was great to see all of the people in the streets cheering when they car came by.

[Karena]

Originally posted by Angel S.+May 22nd, 2004 - 7:06 pm--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Angel S. @ May 22nd, 2004 - 7:06 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Lyonnaise@May 22nd, 2004 - 8:23 am
I'm very disappointed to read so many messages comparing this wedding to the one in Denmark: it's not as glamorous, they're not holding hands, they're not smiling and so on.

Can we for one day just let Letizia and Felipe have their moment?&nbsp; This wedding is nothing compared to the Danish wedding.&nbsp; I would like to have seen what the Danish wedding would have looked like had there been a bombing in Copenhagen AND newspaper reports saying horrible things about Mary AND rain the moment the bride is arriving.&nbsp;

Letizia and Felipe have had to endure so much to get here.&nbsp; From the photos and (brief) video streams that I've seen, they looked very VERY nervous, they also looked very VERY much in love.

Let's put the Danish wedding in the back of our minds for just a few hours and concentrate solely on this new couple.. please&nbsp;

Yes I agree there were many factors that made this wedding very different.

The horrible incident in Madird in March.

The rain made it nearly impossible for the crowds to enjoy.

The terror threat made it so they had to use a bullet proof car.

And the kiss was timid because it's not the custom for Royals in Spain to kiss in public.

Besides she did seem very stressed. I'll bet that dress was heavy(and those heels!), the weather humid & the TV reports here said that mid-way through the lunch she & Felipe made an exit which was followed by the King. It was said that the guests all wondered where they had gone but that it was because Letizia wasn't feeling well. I felt very bad for her because I had a similar incident once and it was not fun. I had to be carried out, covered so no one would see me & taken home. I then spent the next 24 hours vomiting & feeling horrible. I hope she wasn't feeling as bas as I was. Sometimes the stress & nerves get to you. [/b][/quote]
Very well said, both of you.

[carlota]

Originally posted by GrandDuchess@May 22nd, 2004 - 6:54 pm
Alexandria,

Picture of Princess Theodora & Prince Nicholaos arriving to the cathedral

thanks for quoting the pic! she was great!! i add her in my list also

[Angel S.]

Originally posted by Dennism@May 22nd, 2004 - 6:49 am
Crowd seemed to really like the King and Queen.

The King is very much loved & respected in Spain but the "monarchy" as an institution is not very popular over there. At least not like the Scandinavian Royals or even the Dutch.

It could be one of the reasons that Felipe & Letizia look so stressed out. Besides there have been some horrible things in the press about her.

Originally posted by Angel S.+May 22nd, 2004 - 7:29 pm--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Angel S. @ May 22nd, 2004 - 7:29 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Dennism@May 22nd, 2004 - 6:49 am
Crowd seemed to really like the King and Queen.

The King is very much loved & respected in Spain but the "monarchy" as an institution is not very popular over there. At least not like the Scandinavian Royals or even the Dutch.

It could be one of the reasons that Felipe & Letizia look so stressed out. Besides there have been some horrible things in the press about her. [/b][/quote]
My guess is that those journalists are just jealous of Letizia who was a former journalist... and now is a princess.

Also, if she had relationships in the past; prince Felipe also had...
(Not that i approve those relationships)..and what's the problem of her being divorced anyway..it could happen to anyone....I am glad that Felipe choose her...

It seems that people wants an IDEAL queen or king.. :woot:

[Dennism]

Originally posted by Angel S.+May 22nd, 2004 - 8:29 pm--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Angel S. @ May 22nd, 2004 - 8:29 pm)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Dennism@May 22nd, 2004 - 6:49 am
Crowd seemed to really like the King and Queen.

The King is very much loved & respected in Spain but the "monarchy" as an institution is not very popular over there. At least not like the Scandinavian Royals or even the Dutch.
[/b][/quote]
Yes, that makes sense. His stance for democracy in 82 being repeated a few times in the coverage. Well, the institution is not terribly strong per se because of a lack of continuity in the lifetimes of the Spanish people as well. But in the coming decades the institution will probably get popular or it could get less actually.

[dancingqueen83]

Queens and Kings was/is an exclusive previlage to the few and perhaps that is what makes the monarchy attractive, just a thought.

I hope Letizia will have less pressure and be able to enjoy their honeymoon in peace. :P

[A.C.C.]

Does anyone have a picture of Princess Theodora of Greece? I saw her on t.v., but haven't seen a picture yet.

[samitude]

Theodora and Nikolaos

[A.C.C.]

Thanks Samitude. Theodora is truly stunning, just like her mother. As I posted on GREMB, someone needs to get Prince William and Theodora together (although that probably wont happen). They would be a STUNNING couple. Now that would be a Royal wedding (but I wont hold my breath).

Congratulations to Felipe and Letizia, who I thought looked beautiful today.

[Dennism]

Originally posted by dancingqueen83@May 22nd, 2004 - 8:52 pm
Queens and Kings was/is an exclusive previlage to the few and perhaps that is what makes the monarchy attractive, just a thought.&nbsp;

I hope Letizia will have less pressure and be able to enjoy their honeymoon in peace. :P

Yes, that is true. That is the appeal for a lot of people. Yes, let´s hope the paparazzi do not bother them.

[bct88]

Was H.M. Queen Beatrix at the wedding? I know she was at the dinner the night before, yet I have seen NO pictures of her at the wedding. I was wondering if she indeed went.

[Dennism]

Originally posted by bct88@May 22nd, 2004 - 9:09 pm
Was H.M. Queen Beatrix at the wedding? I know she was at the dinner the night before, yet I have seen NO pictures of her at the wedding. I was wondering if she indeed went.

Queen Beatrix left to attend the wedding of her godchild, Katherine Abel Smith,.

[samitude]

A.C.C. Posted on May 22nd, 2004 - 8:07 pm
&nbsp; Thanks Samitude. Theodora is truly stunning, just like her mother. As I posted on GREMB, someone needs to get Prince William and Theodora together (although that probably wont happen). They would be a STUNNING couple. Now that would be a Royal wedding (but I wont hold my breath).

I definitely agree that Prince William and Princess Theodora should get together. That would no doubt about it be the wedding of two centuries! Think about it. We have the bride being directly related to the royal houses of Denmark and Spain and being distantly related to the houses of Sweden and Great Britain. You know all these European royals will attend this wedding plus all the Windsors who wouldn't travel outside of Great Britain for any other wedding.

Oh how we could all dream about this! If she and William won't get together then she and Guillaume of Luxembourg should. I saw some footage at the Danish royal wedding reception. There was a group of younger royals talking that included Martha and Ari, the Swedish siblings, and Theodora. Well, Guillaume walks up to talk to them and Theodora started touching her face, adjusting her hair, etc. It was definitely a universal sign of what a girl would do when a good looking guy comes around. Anyway, he was telling some great big story or joke or something that had all of them laughing their heads off.

By the way while watching the Danish reception I also saw Victoria hanging on Felipe's arm until Letizia looked her way and she immediately dropped it! I love seeing this kind of footage.