Queen Letizia of Spain attends Spanish minister Perez-Llorca’s funeral

Queen Letizia of Spain and husband King Felipe look solemn in black as they pay their respects to former Spanish minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca at his funeral in Madrid

  • She and King Felipe attended service at San Jeronimo Church in Spanish capital
  • Perez-Llorca passed away on March 6 after suffering from lung disease
  • The lawyer was one of the seven authors of the 1978 Spanish Constitution 
  • The couple paid their respects to Perez-Llorca’s widow at the sombre occasion
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Queen Letizia of Spain donned all black today to pay her respects to former Spanish minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca.

Arm-in-arm with husband King Felipe, she looked solemn as she arrived for the funeral service at the San Jeronimo Church in Madrid.

Pérez-Llorca, a Spanish lawyer and one of the seven authors of the 1978 Spanish Constitution, passed away at the age of 78 on March 6 after battling lung disease.

He served as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1980 to 1982. 


Queen Letizia of Spain and her husband King Felipe donned all black today to pay her respects at the funeral of former Spanish minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca


The stylish queen joined her husband at the San Jeronimo Church in Madrid to celebrate the life of Pérez-Llorca


Dressed in a long black belted coat and stilletto heels, the 46-year-old wore her silky brunette lock down and kept her make-up to a respectable minimum

The couple paid their respects to Pérez-Llorca’s widow at the sombre occasion, with Letizia giving her a comforting hug and kiss on the cheek.

Dressed in a long black belted coat and stilletto heels, the 46-year-old wore her silky brunette lock down and kept her make-up to a respectable minimum.

Earlier in the day she attended the launch of a new project called (In) Formate at Google’s Madrid campus with the Spanish secretary of health, consumption and social welfare, María Luisa Carcedo.

The Queen met with several teenagers, who were also in attendance after the presentation and then went on to visit the campus, which was inaugurated by her husband in 2015. 

She then made her way to the San Jeronimo Church to join her husband at the mass in celebration of Pérez-Llorca’s life.


Letizia, the eldest daughter of Jesus Alvarez, a journalist, and his first wife Maria Rodriguez, a nurse, made her way into church


The couple paid their respects to Pérez-Llorca’s widow at the sombre occasion


Queen Letizia gave Pérez-Llorca’s widow a comforting hug and kiss on the cheek. The former minister passed away on March 6 after suffering lung disease

The late minister played a prominent role in Spanish politics, both as Madrid Deputy of the Union of the Democratic Centre and floor leader of the Parliamentary group of the Centrist party.

He also played a key role in establishing the 1978 Spanish Constitution, enacted following a constitutional referendum which saw the Kingdom of Spain transition to a democracy following the death of general Francisco Franco in November 1975.

The military dictator ruled over the country for almost 40 years, during a period known as the Francoist regime.


The royal couple looked solemn at the service at the San Jeronimo Church in Madrid


The royal couple both dressed smartly in black for the funeral of former Spanish minister José Pedro Pérez-Llorca, who played a key role in establishing the 1978 Spanish Constitution

Spain’s transition to a democratic state saw the country undergo a series of political, social and historical changes under the guidance of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

While it didn’t completely abolish the Francoist regime, it gradually transformed its institutions and laws to produce a new constitution, which was redacted, debated and approved by the constituent assembly which emerged from the 1977 general election. 

Pérez-Llorca co-founded the Pérez-Llorca law firm in 1983 and served as its chairman from then until 2005.

Who is Queen Letizia of Spain? 

The eldest daughter of Jesus Alvarez, a journalist, and his first wife Maria Rodriguez, a nurse, Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was born in Oviedo, northern Spain.

One sister, Telma, became an economist; the other, Erika, committed suicide by taking an overdose while suffering from depression.

Before meeting the heir to the Spanish throne, Letizia enjoyed a lengthy career in TV and newspapers.

She completed a BA in journalism, followed by a masters in audiovisual journalism.

After a stint at Asturian daily paper, La Nueva España, she went on to work for ABC, a popular national newspaper that enjoys the third largest circulation in Spain.

Next came a stint at Spanish news agency EFE before a move to Guadalajara in Mexico saw her take on a role on local paper, Siglo 21.

Back in Spain a year later, she worked for the Spanish version of Bloomberg, a news channel and agency specialising in economics, before moving to CNN+.

Before she met Felipe of Spain, Letizia was married to high school teacher Alonso Guerrero Perez, who was nine years her senior.

The couple wed in 1998 following a ten-year romance – with the pair meeting when the future Spanish queen was just 16.

The couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony in the town of Almendralejo, Badajoz, but divorced the following year after just one year of marriage.

By the time she met her husband-to-be, Felipe in 2002, Letizia was working for popular TV channel 24 Horas, where along with anchoring the popular Telediario 2 evening news bulletin she reported on a wide range of breaking news event – among them the 2000 US presidential elections and the 9/11 attacks.

The couple met when Felipe visited the site of an oil spill, which the journalist was reporting on.

However, her status as a divorcee caused controversy in Spain ahead of the royal wedding, along with rumours she’d had a secret abortion.

She was only allowed to marry Felipe in the Catholic Church in 2004 as she had previously had a civil ceremony with ex-husband Alonso.

As time wore on she was criticised for being unsmiling on official engagements. Then there was further controversy when she had surgery on her nose in 2008.

The official explanation was that she had a deviated septum which had to be fixed. But commentators were quick to point out that her post-operation nose looked a little daintier too.

Another book, The Court of Felipe VI, published in 2015, alleged that former King Juan Carlos ‘never liked the arrival of a journalist in a place that had traditionally been an opaque haven from the fourth estate’.

Controversy arose earlier this year when footage appeared to show a tense stand-off between the current Queen and her mother-in-law Queen Sofia at mass at Palma Cathedral.

 

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