Just 20 years ago, the then Prince Felipe arrived in Asturias with a secret. Without anyone suspecting anything, for a few months he had been in a romantic relationship with the journalist Letizia Ortiz, with whom he met in Oviedo a week before announcing their engagement. Last Friday, they recreated the scene in the same place, already married and with two daughters.
On October 24, 2003, the day the Prince of Asturias awards were presented, which, among others, were collected by Lula da Silva, Miquel Barceló, Ryszard Kapuscinski, Jane Goodall and J.K. Rowling, Prince Philip, as he had done in previous years, went to the TVE set to greet the journalists and technicians who had worked on the transmission of the ceremony. Nothing special, not even the greeting to Letizia Ortiz, then presenter, along with Alfredo Urdaci, of the second edition of the Telediario. The images of the greeting were broadcast on the news, but no one noticed the knowing look of Felipe and Letizia. The best kept secret wasn’t revealed until a week later.
Who knew at that time that Operation Princess had been launched is another mystery. A few knew that Letizia Ortiz and Felipe de Borbón were seeing each other, but only they knew that the story had only just begun.
For the newspaper archive, there will be the image of Letizia, dressed in a brown suit jacket with camel stripes and a turtleneck, shaking hands with the Prince alongside the then president of RTVE, José Antonio Sánchez, in one of the rooms of the Reconquista hotel. How will his last live broadcast look like wearing a striking yellow coat.
The journalist, highly appreciated in Asturias, where she is from and where her grandmother Menchu ??Álvarez del Valle was a celebrity, was the subject of an interview in those days, on the occasion of her presence in Oviedo to cover the awards, in which, after years, it can be said that he gave some clues without anyone noticing them. Journalist Regina Buitrago, from Oviedo TV, asked her: “What does it mean for a woman from Oviedo like you, Letizia, to be covering such an important event for the city?” To which the current Queen replied: “I am always excited to come to Oviedo, but this year, due to many circumstances, for many reasons, much more so. I am very excited to cover the awards…” The circumstances were not just any circumstances, Letizia knew that this would be one of her last jobs as a journalist and that, as it was, the following year she would return to Oviedo as Princess of Asturias.
In another of the answers, however, he played with confusion: “Being in my city is a privilege, my Asturian accent returns and I hope to continue covering the Prince of Asturias awards for many years.” But she did not cover them again as a journalist, although since 2003, except in the 2005 edition, when she was just a few days away from giving birth to Princess Leonor, she has not been absent on any occasion. On November 1, 2003, a week after the handshake in Oviedo, Zarzuela issued the statement that would change its life: “Their Majesties, the Kings, have the great satisfaction of announcing the engagement of their son, Their Royal Highness, the Prince of Asturias, Don Felipe, with Doña Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.”
