Queen Sofia of Spain

Sofia (born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I. She is the first child of King Paul of Greece and Frederica of Hanover. As her family was forced into exile during Second World War, she spent part of her childhood in Egypt, returning to Greece in 1946.

She completed her secondary education in a boarding school in Germany before returning to Greece where she specialized in childcare, music and archaeology.

Sofia became queen upon her husband's accession in 1975. On 18 June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favor of their son Felipe VI.

Early Life

Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born on 2 November 1938, at Tatoi Palace in Acharnes, Athens, Greece, the eldest child of King Paul and his wife, Queen Frederica. Sofia is a member of the Greek branch of the Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg dynasty. Her brother was the deposed King Constantine II and her sister is Princess Irene.

Princess Sophia spent some of her childhood in Egypt where she took her early education in El Nasr Girls' College (EGC) in Alexandria. She lived in South Africa during her family's exile from Greece during World War II, where her sister Irene was born. 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 also studied at Fitwilliam College, Cambridge, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. She was a reserve member, alongside her brother Constantine, of Greece's gold medal-winning sailing team in the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Marriage and Children

Sofia met her paternal third cousin, the then Infante Juan Carlos of Spain on a cruise in the Greek Islands in 1954; they met again at the wedding of the Duke of Kent, her paternal second cousin, at York Minister in June 1961. Sofia and Juan Carlos married on 14 May 1962, at the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Dionysius in Athens. Her bride's gown was made by Jean Desses.

Sofia converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Catholic to become more palatable to Catholic Spain, and thus relinquished her rights to the Greek throne. Along with this, the usual Latinization of her Greek name (Sophia) was changed from Sophia to the Spanish variant, Sofia.

Sofia was in Greece on a private visit to her brother, King Constantine II, when the 1967 Greek military coup took place. Except for a brief stay for the funeral of her mother in 1981, Queen Sofia would not visit the Hellenic Republic until 1998.

In 1969, Infante Juan Carlos, who was never Prince of Asturias (the traditional title of the Spanish heir apparent), was given the official title of "Prince of Spain" by the Francoist dictatorship. Juan Carlos acceded to the throne in 1975, upon the death of Francisco Franco. Juan Carlos, after his accession to the Spanish throne, returned with his family to the Zarzuela Palace.

The couple has three children: Elena (born 20 December 1963), Cristina (born 13 June 1965); and Felipe (born 30 January 1968)

Activities

Besides accompanying her husband on official visits and occasions, Sofia also has solo engagements. She is executive president of the Queen Sofia Foundation, which in 1993, sent funds for relief in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons of Spain, as well as the Spanish Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts. Additionally, she has served as the patroness of the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute since 2003.

Sofia takes special interest in programs against drug addiction, traveling to conferences in both Spain and abroad. The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia is named after her, as is Reina Sofia Airport in Tenerife.

Sofia is an Honorary Member of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts and of the Spanish Royal Academy of History. She has received honorary doctorates from the Universities of Rosario (Bogota), Valladolid, Cambridge, Oxford, Georgetown, Evora, St. Mary's University (Texas), and New York.

A keen supporter of sport, Sofia also attended the final match of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships-Men's Singles where she watched Spanish tennis champion Rafael Nadel win for a second time, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup where the Spanish team was crowned as world champion.

Sofia has been honorary president of the Spanish UNICEF Committee since 1971. She has been working closely with Dr. Muhammed Yunus on his Grameen Bank (or "Village Bank"), which offers microcredits to women across the world. Queen Sofia has travelled to Bangladesh, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico to support the activities of the organization led by Yunus. Queen Sofia has also been a strong supporter of Somaly Mam's effects and of the NGO she founded-Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire (AFESIP)-in combatting child prostitution and slavery in Cambodia. In 1998, Mam was awarded the prestigious Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in her presence.

In July 2012, Sofia visited the Philippines for a fourth time. She inspected several development projects around the former Spanish colony that her country's government is funding via the Agencia Espanola de Cooperacion Internacional para el Desarollo (AECID). She visited the National Library, National Museum and the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, which had the oldest extant university charter in Asia and housed the world's largest collection of suyat scripts. She also met with Spanish nationals residing in the Philippines, and attended a reception at the Spanish Embassy. She also attended a state dinner in her honor at Malacanan Palace hosted by President Benigno Aquino III, and thanked the president for promoting the Spanish language in the Philippine educational system.

Later Activity

Following the abdication of her husband as King in 2014, Sofia focused on her sponsoring activities, spending her time Palace of Zarzuela and, in the summer months, the Marivent Palace in Palma de Mallorca.

In April 2018, the video of a tense interaction between Sofia and her daughter-in-law Queen Letizia following the Easter Mass at Palma Cathedral made headlines. The rumors of a conflict between the two dates back to 2008. Letizia was reportedly "dismay" by the rumors and was spotted a few days later with Sofia arriving at La Moraleja Hospital to visit King Juan Carlos.

Views

Sofia has expressed opinions on policy including her criticism of the military intervention in Afghanistan, where Spanish troops were taking part at the time, her defense of religious education in schools, and her conviction that gender violence will encourage new cases to occur.

In 2008, on the occasion of her 70th birthday, Sofia made a number of conservative statements on issues then being debated in Spanish society. These statements included her rejection of same-sex marriage, rejection of Gay Pride celebrations, her opposition to abortion, and her defense of religious education in schools. Her opinions were subjected to heavy criticism by LGBT activists and Republic parties like IU and ERC. The governing PSOE did not comment, while the conservation opposition PP also did so, after initial criticism of the Queen from one of its representatives.

A biography published in May 2012 depicts Sofia as a vegetarian who dislikes bullfighting.

Titles and Honors

2 November 1938-14 May 1962: Her Royal Highness Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark

14 May 1962-21 July 1969: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias

21 July 1969-22 November 1975: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Spain

22 November 1975-19 June 2014: Her Majesty The Queen of Spain

19 June 2014-present: Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain

House: Glucksburg (by birth), Bourbon (by marriage)

Religion: Roman Catholic (prev. Greek Orthodox)

Honors

National Honors

Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Olga and Sophia, Recipient of the Commemorative Badge of the Centenary of the Royal House of Greece

Spain: Dame Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Charles III (10 May 1962), 11th Former Grand Mistress and 1,193rd Dame of the Order of Queen Maria Luisa (14 May 1962), Recipient of the Spanish Red Cross Medal

Foreign Honors

-Argentina: Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin

-Austria: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria

-Belgium: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold

-Brazil: Grand Cross of the Order of the Southern Cross

-Chile: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit

-Colombia: Grand Cross Extraordinary of the Order of Boyaca, Grand Cross of the Order of San Carlos

-Costa Rica: Grand Cross of the Order of Juan Mora Fernandez

-Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant

-Dominican Republic: Grand Cross with Gold Breast Star of the Order of Merit of Duarte, Sanchez and Mella

-Ecuador: Grand Cross of the National Order of San Lorenzo

-Egypt: Grand Cross Supreme Class of the Order of the Virtues

-El Salvador: Grand Cross with Silver Star of the Order of Jose Matias Delgado

-Estonia: Grand Cross of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana

-Ethiopian Imperial Family: Dame Grand Cordon with Collar of the Order of the Queen of Sheba

-Finland: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the White Rose of Finland

-France: Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor, Grand Cross of the Order of the National Merit

-Germany: Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

-Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer

-Guatemala: Grand Cross of the Order of the Quetzal

-Holy See: Dame Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Recipient of the For Church and Pope Badge Medal, Recipient of the Benemerenti Medal

-Honduras: Grand Cross of the Order of Francisco Morazan

-Hungary: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary

-Iceland: Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon

-Indonesia: 1st Class of the Star of Mahaputera

-Iranian Imperial Family: Member 1st Class of the Order of the Pleiades, Recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the 2,500 year Celebration of the Persian Empire

-Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

-Calabrian Royal Family of Two Sicilies: Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Two Sicilian Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George

-Jamaica: Honorary Member of the Order of Jamaica

-Japan: Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the Order of the Precious Crown

-Jordan: Grand Cordon Special Class of the Supreme Order of the Renaissance, Grand Cordon 2nd Class of the Order of the Star of Jordan

-Lativa: Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of the Three Stars

-Lebanon: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit

-Lithuania: Grand Cross of the Order of Vytautas the Great

-Luxembourg: Knight of the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau

-Malta: Honorary Member of the Xirka Gieh ir-Repubblika

-Mexico: Sash of Special Category of the Order of the Aztec Eagle

-Morocco: Member Special Class of the Order of Muhammed

-Nepalese Royal Family: Member of the Order of the Benevolent Ruler

-Netherlands: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Netherlands, Recipient of the Wedding Medal of Princess Beatrix, Princess of Orange and Claus Van Amsberg

-Nigeria: Grand Cross of the Order of the Niger

-Norway: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav

-Panama: Grand Cross Extraordinary of the Order of Vasco Nunez de Balboa

-Peru: Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun of Peru

-Philippines: Member of the Order of Gabriela Silang, Grand Collar of the Order of the Golden Heart

-Poland: Knight of the Order of the White Eagle

-Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry

-Romania: Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania

-Slovakia: Grand Cross of the Order of the White Double Cross

-South Africa: Grand Cross of the Order of Good Hope

-South Korea: Member of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa

-Sweden: Member of the Royal Order of the Seraphim, Recipient of the 50th Birthday Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf

-Thailand: Dame of the Order of the Royal House of Chakri, Dame Grand Cross with Chain of the Order of Chula Chom Klao

-Uruguay: Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1996)

-Venezuela: Grand Cross of the Order of the Liberator

-Zaire: Grand Cross of the National Order of the Leopold