| Sofia of Greece and Denmark | |
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| Queen consort of Spain (more...) | |
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| Consort | November 22, 1975 – present |
| Consort to | Juan Carlos I |
| Issue | |
| Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca Felipe, Prince of Asturias |
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| Full name | |
| English: Sophia Margaret Victoria Frederica Spanish: Sofía Margarita Victoria Federica Greek: Σοφία Μαργαρίτα Βικτωρία Φρειδερίκη |
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| Titles and styles | |
| HM The Queen of Spain HRH The Princess of Spain HRH Infanta Sofía of Spain HRH Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark |
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| Royal house | House of Bourbon House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg |
| Father | Paul I of Greece |
| Mother | Frederika of Hanover |
| Born | November 2, 1938  Athens, Greece |
Sofía of Greece and Denmark (Spanish: Sofía de Grecia y Dinamarca; Greek: Βασίλισσα Σοφία της Ισπανίας; born on 2 November, 1938), is the Queen of Spain as spouse of King Juan Carlos.[1][2]
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Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul I of the Hellenes (1901-1964) and his wife, Queen Frederika (1917-1981), a former princess of Hanover. Queen Sofia is a member of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty. Her brother is the deposed king Constantine II of Greece and her sister Princess Irene of Greece and Denmark. However, since the abolition of the monarchy, the royal titles are not recognized in Greece.
Princess Sophia spent some of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa during her family's exile from Greece during World War II. They returned to Greece in 1946. She finished her education at the prestigious Schloss Salem boarding school in Southern Germany, and then studied childcare, music, and archeology in Athens.
She represented Greece in sailing at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
On 14 May 1962 Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark married in Athens at the Church of Saint Dennis Prince Juan Carlos of Spain, the future king, whom she met on a cruise of the Greek Islands in 1954. In doing so, she relinquished her rights to the throne of Greece and converted to Roman Catholicism from Greek Orthodoxy, an act of convenience in order to become more palatable to Catholic Spain. Further, the Latin transliteration of her Greek name Σοφία was changed from Sophia to the Spanish variant Sofía, which nonetheless is pronounced identically to the original Greek version. Sofia was able to bring a cool realism to the marriage and shifted Juan Carlos from the sphere of influence of his father Don Juan to a more realistic rapprochement with Franco.
In 1969, Prince Juan Carlos, who was never Prince Asturias, the traditional title the heir to the throne, was given the official title of Prince of Spain the Spanish state; this was a title suggested by Sofia herself. Juan Carlos acceded to the throne as Juan Carlos I in 1975.
The couple have three children: HRH Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo born December 20, 1963, HRH Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca born June 13, 1965, and HRH Felipe, Prince of Asturias born January 30, 1968. The King and Queen have eight grandchildren, four boys and four girls: Felipe and Victoria from the Infanta Elena; Juan, Pablo, Miguel and Irene from the Infanta Cristina; and Infanta Leonor, and Infanta Sofía, named in her honor, of Prince Felipe; all of whom are in the line of succession to the Spanish Throne.
Queen Sofía is both a great-great-granddaughter (paternally) and a great-great-great-granddaughter (maternally) of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and is, through several lines, her husband's third cousin. Because of this descent, she is also related to all of the royal families of Europe. She is a first cousin of Ernst August of Hannover (Pretender), and through her great-grandfather George I of Greece, she is a second cousin to Charles, the Prince of Wales. Through Christian IX of Denmark and Queen Victoria, she is also related to Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. She is also a first cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
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HM The King
Extended royal family
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Besides travelling with her husband within Spain and abroad, the Queen has her own agenda. She is the executive president of the Queen Sofía Foundation, which in 1993 sent funds for relief in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons and the Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts.
She takes special interest in programs against drug addiction, travelling to conferences in both Spain and abroad. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía is named after her, as is Reina Sofía Airport in Tenerife.
She has been working closely with Dr. Muhammed Yunus on his Grameen Bank (or "Village Bank"), which offers microcredits to women across the world. Her Majesty has travelled to Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico to support the activities of the organization led by Yunus.
Queen Sofia of Spain has also been a strong supporter of Somaly Mam's efforts and that of the NGO she founded, AFESIP (Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Précaire), in combating the horrendous crimes of child prostitution and slavery in Cambodia. In 1998, Somaly Mam was awarded the prestigious Prince of Asturias Awards for International Cooperation in the presence of Queen Sofia.
The Queen is an Honorary Member of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts and of the Royal Academy of History. She has received Honorary Doctorates from the Universities of Rosario (Bogotá), Valladolid, Cambridge, Oxford, Georgetown, Evora, St. Mary's University, Texas, and New York.
The Queen is fluent in English, French, German, Greek and Spanish.
An interview for the occasion of the Queen's 70th birthday with Opus Dei journalist Pilar Urbano revealed some details of the Queen's conservative ideals on politically debated issues and the lifestyle of the Queen. Strong controversy arose from comments against the same-sex marriage law recently approved by the Spanish Parliament, and also against Gay Pride demonstrations. Also controversial was her criticism to military intervention in Afganistan, where Spanish troops were taking part at the moment, her defence of religious creationist-based education on things' origin in schools, and her conviction that gender violence publicity will encourage new cases to happen. [3] Her opinions were the object of lively criticism from LGTB associations and from Spanish intellectuals.[4] Also responding were Spanish republican political parties like IU and ERC. Government party decided to keep silence, while conservative party PP decided to do so, after a first criticism of the Queen's political intervention from its representative. [5]
Also controversial was the way she publicly exposed private conversations between King Juan Carlos of Spain and former King Mohamed of Moroco, and the revelation that King Juan Carlos talked of Spanish regions like "mis tierras".
She mentioned her relationship with her daughter-in-law Letizia Ortiz, a former divorcée, saying that Letizia has brought her closer to the people, and that she and Letizia spend time together and visit restaurants and shops. On Obama, she said how surprised she was that for the first time in the USA a black candidate might be elected as president, and said she does not tolerate racism. She also mentioned that the King would never abdicate, and that she is against abortion and euthanasia. After the uproar, a press release was issued mentioning that the Queen considered her words were expressed in private conversations and were 'inaccurate'. Pilar Urbano defended herself saying that the book had been sent to the Palace for approval and that everything in the book is documented.
She got the support on her opinions of members of Spain's Royal Family, like the King's sister Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz, who declared total agreement with Sofia de Grecia's opinions.
Here is a list of titles Queen Sofía held from birth in chronological order :
| Monarchical Styles of Sofía, Queen of Spain |
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| Reference style | Her Majesty |
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| Spoken style | Your Majesty |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
Spain
Mexico Order of the Aztec Eagle
Thailand Order of the Royal House of Chakri
Netherlands Order of the Netherlands Lion
Denmark Order of the Elephant
Norway Order of St. Olav
Sweden Order of the Seraphim.svg){kind=small}
Belgium Order of Leopold
Brazil Order of the Southern Cross
France Order of the Legion of Honour
Germany Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Greece Order of St. Olga and St. Sophia
Iceland Order of the Falcon
The personal coat of arms of the Queen impales [6] the Spanish Royal Arms (her husband's shield) to the dexter (viewer's left) with her parent’s shield, the arms of King Paul of Greece – Azure a cross argent; inescutcheon, the coat of arms of Denmark as used when George I became king of Greece and showing the dynastic link to the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg dynasty; a shield containing a cross argent fimbriated gules from the Danish flag and subcoats representing Denmark, Schleswig, the former Kalmar Union, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Holstein, Stormarn, Dithmarschen, Lauenburg, Oldenburg, Delmenhorst, and the former Danish royal titles of King of the Wends and Goths.[7]
All surmounted by the Spanish Royal Crown (Crown's arches differenced as consort) and surrounded by the Collar of the Order of Carlos III.[8]
The Queen's coat of arms has no official status. In Spain only the coats of arms of the King and the Prince of Asturias are official.[9]
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Queen Sofía of Spain
Cadet branch of the House of Oldenburg
Born: 2 November 1938 |
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| Spanish royalty | ||
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| Vacant
Title last held by
Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg |
Queen consort of Spain 22 November 1975 – present |
Incumbent Designated heir: Letizia, Princess of Asturias |
| Titles in pretence | ||
| Vacant
Title last held by
María of Bourbon-Two Sicilies |
— TITULAR — Queen consort of the two Sicilies Queen consort of Jerusalem Queen consort of Sardinia Queen consort of Gibraltar etc... |
Incumbent Designated heir: Letizia, Princess of Asturias |
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