Foreword: Recently, the 18-year-old adult birthday banquet held by Princess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, has become the focus of attention of the royal family members in the world today, so we saw a lot of well-known royal family members at this party, but what really attracted Xiao Wei Jun was the Spanish Queen Sofia who was photographed in public before!
On November 2, 1938, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in the Tatoi Palace in Athens, Greece, and although she seems to be just an ordinary princess, it is undeniable that Sophia was also a member of the Greek branch of the Schleswig-Holstein-Zonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty, and her great-great-grandmother was also Queen Victoria.
This led to a close relationship with the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, but despite her good background, Sophia still lived with ups and downs, such as during World War II. Sophia and her family were forced into exile, which led to a difficult childhood in Egypt and South Africa.
However, despite her ups and downs, she not only completed her studies at the famous Salem Castle Boarding School in southern Germany, but also continued her studies in childcare, music and archaeology in Athens.
Sophia also studied at Fitzwilliam College, a college affiliated with the University of Cambridge, and as a keen regatta, she represented Greece as a reserve member at the 1960 Summer Olympics and won gold with her brother Konstantin (heir to the now-deposed Greek monarchy).
In 1954, Sofia met her third cousin, Prince Juan Carlos, on a cruise ship in the Greek Islands, and met again at the wedding of the Duke of Kent in 1961. Just a year later, they were married at the Catholic Cathedral of St. Dionysius in Athens. After getting married, Sophia converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Catholicism.
However, an interesting scene happened, not long after, in 1973, the Greek monarchy was abolished, causing Sophia, who was formerly the king and queen, to suffer a very heavy blow! Despite this, Sofia and her husband Juan Carlos still have three children together, namely Princess Elena, Princess Cristina and King Felipe.
In the blink of an eye, in 1975, after the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos succeeded to the throne and became the new king of Spain, and Sofia became the queen of Spain.
In fact, from the basic logic, Sofia and Juan Carlos at this time should love each other and maintain their families together, but unfortunately her husband Juan Carlos finally showed his true colors after ascending to a high position!
Of course, as a king, Juan Carlos also paid special attention to beautifying his image in the outside world, for example, Juan Carlos is considered to have made a major contribution to Spain's peaceful transition to democracy, and he and his wife Queen Sofia have been admired by the people for many years.
The couple also maintained a close relationship with Queen Elizabeth and the British royal family, with Prince Charles, Princess Diana and their two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, often spending their holidays at the summer palace in Mallorca.
In addition to accompanying her husband on official visits and attending other important occasions, Sophia often participates in various events alone. She is not only the Executive President of the Queen Sofia Foundation, but also the Honorary President of the Royal Spanish Council for the Education and Care of Persons with Disabilities and the Spanish Foundation for the Assistance of Drug Addicts.
Of course, as queen, Sophia is particularly mindful of her sensitive status, so she has never commented publicly on any political issues. However, in October 2008, Pilar Urbano's book, The Queen of Close Quarters, sparked widespread controversy in the region because of its alleged inclusion of Sofia's criticism of Spain's involvement in the military intervention in Afghanistan.
In November 2003, when her only son, Felipe (then known as Prince of Asturias), announced his engagement to Letizia Ortiz, Sofia invited the former journalist and news anchor to join her family, and the newborn Queen Letizia paid tribute to her future mother-in-law in her first post-engagement speech.
In June 2014, after her husband Juan Carlos abdicated, she passed the throne to her son Felipe, making Letizia the queen of Spain.
At this time, the former Spanish king Juan Carlos's bad nature could no longer be suppressed, and finally exploded, although Juan Carlos was indeed popular when he first ascended the throne in his early years, he later fell into repeated infidelity and was also accused of multiple corruption charges.
Despite this, three investigations against former King Juan Carlos were dropped last year, and the result was that Juan Carlos willingly gave up the throne and passed it on to his child Felipe!
And by this time, the marriage of the two could no longer be normal and decent, and many times, Sophia, as a former queen, could not maintain her dignity in public.
Not to mention the gossip circulating in Spain, since the 70s of the 20th century, Sofia and Juan Carlos have never shared a bed after their official break, even in the Easter Mass in 2018, it appeared that Sofia, as the queen, was prevented from standing in front of her by the new queen Letizia to take pictures.
Especially in the recent 18th birthday ceremony of Princess Leonor, Sofia, who was supposed to be a grandmother, was supposed to appear at the birthday party, but it is said that her husband Juan Carlos did not take the initiative to attend her granddaughter's birthday because she was enjoying life in the bay, which caused her son Felipe to be dissatisfied!
So his son Felipe actually didn't invite Sofia to the party, of course, the reason given was quite formal, Felipe claimed to the outside world that he was not treated differently from his father Juan Carlos!
Although there are photos at the later party that confirmed that Sophia also attended her granddaughter's birthday party, judging from the various problems that broke out before, in fact, Sophia's life is very sad now, and her husband's irrationality and the alienation of her children have made this poor woman bruised!