Nineteen years ago, not even the inclement rain that fell on Madrid tarnished the image of happiness shown by the then Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón, and the until then journalist Letizia Ortiz. Today, the couple celebrates their wedding anniversary and does so together with their daughters, Leonor and Sofía, with whom last Saturday, on the occasion of the Princess's graduation, they composed a family image in which the then bride and groom pose as proud parents .
May 22, 2004 was not, in principle, the date chosen for the royal wedding, but balancing the agendas of the attendees was not easy. Despite the fact that in the announcement of the commitment the link was set for the end of June, the reality is that it happened in mid-May after a meteorological study certified that there was no record of rain in Madrid on any of the May 22 from previous years.
The groom and the guests entered the Almudena Cathedral when it began to rain, but the bride did so when the rain god began to cry desperately. His walk, from the courtyard of the Royal Palace to the Almudena, had to be inside a car (yes, a Rolls-Royce), which lessened emotion and added nerves judging by Letizia's face, which was glimpsed through of the fogged windows.
The wedding left images for posterity: Froilán beginning his career as a bad boy and Carolina de Mónaco alone, without Hannover; both stay the same. Letizia wore a dress signed by Pertegaz, then the dean of the great Spanish couturiers. The bridal model is from a museum, but, given the stylistic evolution of the current queen, her wedding dress could match her, quite the opposite of what happens now. As seen in London, at the coronation of Carlos III, the Queen has managed to make her wardrobe add points to her public image.
The family photo will be repeated this Thursday, when Infanta Sofía receives confirmation in Madrid together with her classmates from the Santa María de los Rosales school. They have three months left to be all together. On August 17, Leonor will enter the Zaragoza Military Academy and, days later, Sofía will travel to Wales to follow in the footsteps of her sister at Atlantic College. The Kings, like 19 years ago, will be, once again, alone at home.
