Felipe and Letizia

Felipe de Bourbon (H.R.H. The Crown Prince Felipe de Borbon y Grecia ), Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano

Felipe - January 30, 1968 in Madrid. Letizia - September 15, 1972 in Oviedo. She is the daughter and granddaughter of journalists and is from a middle-class family.

After a secret romance, their marriage commitment was announced by the Royal Family on November 1, 2003. The Hand Request Ceremony was held on November 6, 2003.

May 22, 2004

Cathedral Nuestra Senora de la Almudena in Madrid, Spain. One million red, yellow, and saffron colored flowers were planted in Madrid for the wedding along with 6,000 banners, 4,000 street-lamp banners, and 35,000 metres of fabric covering security barricades.

The Princess will leave her bouquet at the high altar of the Royal Basilica of Atocha near Atocha station.

Letizia's wedding dress was an off-white gown with a flowing silk veil and a 4.5m train embroidered with heraldic symbols. She carried a bouquet of white lilies-of-the-valley. The diamond and platinum tiara she wore was the same one Queen Sofia wore at her wedding to King Juan Carlos in 1962. The wedding gown was designed by Manuel Pertegaz. Prince Felipe will dress in army uniform, with military decorations including the Grand Cross of Merit.

1,400 VIP guests including 30 heads of state (such as Prince Charles, Nelson Mandela, Prince Naruhito, Princess Caroline of Monaco, Queen Rania) and members of a dozen royal families. A million people were on Madrid's streets to celebrate the marriage.

Cardinal Antonio Maria Rouca Varela, Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, assisted by two other cardinals, five bishops, a prior and an abbot.

Felipe, 36; Letizia, 31.

How They Met: Letizia was in Galicia on assignment to cover the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker in November, 2002. Prince Felipe was there to view the damage caused by the accident. A senior manager of the TVE news department claims he introduced the two in September 2002 at a dinner party at a friend's home. They started dating the following spring.

Letizia presented Felipe with white gold binoculars and sapphires and a book written in 1850 by journalist Mariano Jose de Larra. Felipe gave Letizia a white gold ring and a very old Royal Family necklace.

Honeymoon: Part of their honeymoon was in the Red Sea port of Aqaba so they could attend the marriage on May 27, 2004, of Jordan's Crown Prince Hamza and Princess Nur Hamza.

Where They Live: New Pavilion of the Zarzuela Palace in Madrid. It is a 11-bedroom home, with nine bathrooms, offices, meeting halls, 20 garage spaces, and a swimming pool. Before their wedding, Letizia lived, after the announcement of their engagement, in the guest wing of the palace.

Occupations: Felipe - Heir to the Spanish throne; Letizia - Former television news presenter/anchor of Telediario-Noticias, a daily news program. She became the Princess of Asturias when she married Felipe.

Religions: Both are Catholic.

Children: None, but Prince Felipe reportedly wants six children.

Other Marriages: Felipe, none; Letizia married Alonso Guerrero, a literature teacher, on August 7, 1998 in a civil ceremony. The marriage ended in 1999.

Quote: Felipe - "I won't abandon my aim to marry someone I'm in love with," he said in January 2003, "someone with whom I have an honest, profound relationship on which to base a family, common values and interests that will allow us to share a family and professional life… to serve Spain in the best way possible."

Miscellaneous: The couple canceled the bachelor party, bridal shower, and firework display out of respect for the Atocha bombing victims. They also asked Madrid to forget the planned street dance, and suggested people give the money for the event to a victims' charity.

Letizia Ortiz is the first commoner to be in line to be queen in Spain.

Their wedding ceremony was the first royal wedding in Madrid in nearly a century. At the royal wedding of King Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia in Madrid, 98 years ago, about 20 bystanders were killed by an anarchist's bomb.