Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited Madrid and met one of her great friends, the businesswoman Elena Cué, with whom she enjoyed dinner last Friday. A friendship that was most surprising for some, who until now did not know of the link between the sovereign consort of the Dutch and the wife of Alberto Cortina.
At 51 years old, Elena Cué can be considered one of the most unknown women to social reporting professionals, and she is married to Alberto Cortina, one of the best-known financiers in Spain. Only her birthday party last October gives a taste of the circles in which the businesswoman moves, as it was a party that not only included her husband and other renowned financiers; But friends like Miriam Ungría, now princess of Jordan, didn’t want to miss it either.
It is not the only “royal” friendship of the businesswoman and art expert, as she also enjoys the trust of another European royal, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands.
Cué is the third wife of Alberto Cortina, a member of the famous and powerful business duo “Los Albertos”, which he formed with his cousin, Alberto Alcocer. A nickname that was a fundamental part of the economic and political Spain of the eighties and nineties.
Cué married Cortina in the church on the Las Cuevas estate – property of the groom – in 2000, after the former banker obtained the ecclesiastical annulment of his first marriage, with Alicia Koplowitz; and the divorce from his second wife, the deceased Marta Chávarri. A romance that sparked all kinds of controversies at the time, given the age difference between the two, 24 years.
To this day, they have not only managed to silence all those who criticized them, becoming one of the most consolidated and powerful couples in Madrid society -despite the scandals that shook Cortina-; in addition to its economic power. As a result of their relationship, her daughter was born, Alejandra, who turns 18 on March 1 and seems interested in English Literature.
The businesswoman, Asturian by birth and Madrid by adoption, is a gemologist by profession and heir to her family’s jewelry heritage, as well as one of the “queens” of the Spanish jet.
Among her VIP friends, Miriam Ungria, Nuria Fernández, Miriam Lapique, Blanca Suelves, Inés Sastre, Isabel Sartorius or Máxima from Holland. Also politicians like José María Aznar, businessmen like Flavio Briatore or the Australian communications magnate Rupert Murdoch.
Elegant and very discreet, as she does not like the limelight and there are rare occasions when she can be photographed at a public event. Alberto Cortina’s wife rarely appears in the press, and except at events such as the weddings of one of her friends, it is strange to see her in the pages of a publication or granting an interview.
Instead of hanging out at events and becoming the socialite par excellence, the businesswoman has dedicated herself to her charitable projects that are dedicated to helping the most vulnerable families in the Community of Madrid, which since 2011 have been fully financed by the Elena and Alberto Cortina Foundation.
