The Spanish royal family, headed by King Juan Carlos (second from right), pose with Dominican President Leonel Fernández  and his wife Margarita Cedeño on May 18, 2009 (click photo for larger view).

The Spanish Royals welcomed the President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez to the Zarzuela Palace today, May 18, 2009.

President Fernandez is in Spain for a five-day state visit. Part of his agenda involved seeking Spanish investors in his country. King Juan Carlos received him for a private meeting, before a gala dinner at the Royal Palace attended by the Spanish royal family.

Read more

From left, Queen Sofia, Mr. Devisingh Ransingh, President Pratibha Patil, King Juan Carlos I, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia before the state dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid (click for larger photo)

Spain’s royal family welcomed India’s President Pratibha Patil and her husband Devisingh Ravisingh Shekhawat, on Tuesday, April 21, 2009.

The Indian leader is on a state visit to promote ties between the two countries. The visit is significant in that it is the first ever state visit to Spain by an Indian head of state. The dignitaries were officially welcomed with a formal ceremony and a state dinner at the Royal Palace in Madrid. The state dinner was attended by King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia.

image: Newscom

The Spanish royal family celebrated Easter at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca on Sunday, April 4, 2009.

King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia, Crown Prince Felipe, Crown Princess Letizia and the young princesses, Leonor and Sofia, attended the Easter Mass. The family took some time to greet the priests and pose for photographs outside the church. They traditionally spend the Easter holiday on the island.

Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia, in their blue dresses, matched perfectly down to their white stockings and tan shoes. Queen Sofia was in all red, which matched her husband’s red tie. Prince Felipe matched his daughters with a blue tie. I was surprised to see Princess Letizia wearing trousers to the Easter mass. Her outfit is a little too casual for me.

More photos after the cut:

Read more

Her Majesty Queen Sofia

Born as: Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark

Birthday and birthplace: November 2, 1938 in Psychiko, Athens, Greece

Royal House: The House of Borbon (The Spanish Royal Family)

Parents: King Paul I (1901-1964) and Queen Federica (1917-1981) of Greece

Siblings: ex-King Constantine II of Greece (b. 1940), and Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark (b. 1942)

Spouse: King Juan Carlos (wedding day: May 14, 1962 at the Church of Saint Dennis at Athens)

Children: The Infanta Elena (b. 1963), The Infanta Cristina (b. 1965), and Prince Felipe (b. 1968)

Grandchildren: Don Felipe Juan (b. 1998) and Dona Victoria (b. 2000); Don Juan Valentin (b. 1999), Don Pablo (b. 2000), Don Miguel (b. 2002), and Dona Irene (b. 2005); and The Infanta Leonor (b. 2005) and The Infanta Sofia (b. 2007)

Official Residence: Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid)

Other Residences: La Zarzuela Palace; Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca

Education: Childcare, music, and archeology

Special Interests: sailing, social and welfare issues activities

Other Notes: Queen Sofía is a descendant of Britain’s Queen Victoria. She was a reserve member of the Greek sailing team at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Queen Sofia is fluent in Spanish, English, French, German, and Greek.

source: The Official Website of the Spanish Monarchy, and Wikipedia; image credit: Newscom

Spain’s Queen Sofia in Jacmel, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti during a visit on January 21, 2009.

Queen Sofia of Spain is spending a lot of time on the ground during her visit to Haiti. During her 3-day visit, the Queen has been visiting development projects that Spain has helped fund in the country.

Among her stops are a mountain reforestation project and a fishing village. Queen Sofia met with Haiti’s President Rene Preval on Wednesday, January 21, 2009.

Queen Sofia was in the Dominican Republic prior to going to Haiti.

source: MSNBC; Image: Newscom

The royal family of Spain send you a happy Christmas! Except for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, this year’s Christmas cards from the Spanish royals feature the younger generations on the front cover.

From King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia:

click on images for larger

Read more

From left: King Juan Carlos, Emperor Akihito, Queen Sofia and Empress Michiko at the welcome ceremony on November 10, 2008.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia arrived in Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on November 9, 2008 for a state visit to Japan. That night, they attended a reception party at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

The Spanish royals were official welcomed by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko at Tokyo’s Imperial Palace on November 10, 2008. If you’re confused about the time, just remember that Japan is ahead of us (in the U.S.) by several hours.

The last time the Spanish royals were in Japan was in 1998, for the opening ceremony of the Nagano Olympics. They will stay until November 14, 2008 for this visit.

More photos of the arrival at the airport from Yahoo; and the Nov. 9 reception from Zimbio.

image credit: Newscom

Spain’s King Juan Carlos (2nd from right) and Queen Sofia (right) with Peru’s President Alan Garcia and first lady Pilar Nores at the archaeological site of Chan Chan in Trujillo, Peru, on October 28, 2008.

Spain’s King Juan Carlos and Queen Spain were on a state visit to Peru from October 27-29, 2008. It was King Juan Carlos’ third state visit to the nation.

The Spanish royals met with Peru’s President Alan Garcia Perez at the Government Palace in Lima. King Juan Carlos met with various government officials, before the royal couple attended a dinner in their honor last Monday. King Juan Carlos was awarded Peru’s Medal of Honor in the Grade of Grand Cross in recognition of the friendship and cultural ties between the two countries.

On Tuesday, King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia visited the Precolumbian archeological sites of Chan Chan and Huaca de la Luna. That evening, they attended a reception at the Spanish Embassy in Lima. Today, Wednesday the Spanish royals traveled to San Salvador to attend the 18th Iberoamerican Summit.

via SurinEnlish and Andina; image used with permission via Newscom

(From left to right) Prince Felipe, Princess Letizia, Queen Sofia, Queen Rania, King Abdullah, King Juan Carlos, Princess Noor and Prince Hasna at the Zarzuela Palace on October 18, 2008 in Madrid, Spain.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania were in Madrid, Spain on an official visit on October 18-19, 2008. They were met by Spain’s monarch King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia at the Barajas airport. King Abdullah and Queen Rania were joined by Prince Hamza and Princess Noor.

Read more

The Spanish royal family welcomed Costa Rica’s President Oscar Arias on his official visit to the country. The royals hosted a dinner for the visiting dignitary on September 10, 2008 at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain.