Queen Letizia of Spain resides in the opulent Zarzuela Palace today, but her pre-royal life unfolded in a modest apartment in Madrid’s Valdebernardo neighborhood. Purchased in 1999 for €230,000 (approximately £200,000), this property witnessed personal tragedies before its sale in 2008.
Post-Divorce Beginnings
In August 1998, Letizia married high school teacher Alonso Guerrero Pérez in a civil ceremony. The marriage ended in divorce just one year later. She then settled into the small apartment, advancing her journalism career there.
While working as a television reporter for Televisión Española in 2002, Letizia attended a dinner party hosted by mutual friend and journalist Pedro Erquicia. There, she met Felipe, her future husband.
The couple announced their engagement in November 2003. Felipe expressed his joy, stating, “I am very happy to be able to show how happy our engagement has made me and how in love I am with Letizia. For every couple, it is an important step to become engaged. I say to you with conviction that Letizia is the woman with whom I want to share my life and to build a family.”
Reporters gathered outside the apartment but learned little due to Letizia’s discreet lifestyle. Doorman Gaspar, who interacted with her regularly, described her positively: “I’m the only one who has any contact with her here. You can be sure that the prince is gaining more from this than she is. She’s a true lady, down-to-earth, discreet, a real gem.”
A Tragic Turn
Following the engagement, Letizia relocated to the palace for wedding preparations. She allowed her sister Erika, an interior designer for a TV production company, and Erika’s daughter Carla to stay in the apartment.
In 2007, tragedy struck when Erika, aged 31, died by suicide in the apartment shortly after her separation from husband Antonio Vigo, a sculptor. At the funeral in Madrid, Letizia addressed the public, saying, “Thank you to everyone who has shown sympathy following the death of my little sister.”
Haunted by Letizia’s own divorce, Erika’s separation, and her sister’s death, the property was sold in 2008.
