Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo
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Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo (Elena María Isabel Dominica de Silos de Borbón y de Grecia; born 20 December 1963) is the first child and eldest daughter of Juan Carlos I (King of Spain from 1975 to 2014) and
Queen Sofía of Spain Sofía of Greece and Denmark ( el, Σοφία; born 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 Fred ...
, and third in the line of succession to the Spanish throne. She has a younger sister, Cristina, and a younger brother,
King Felipe VI Felipe VI (;, * eu, Felipe VI.a, * ca, Felip VI, * gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and h ...
. Elena has represented her family abroad on several occasions, having travelled to
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, the
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, the
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,
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,
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,
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, and the
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.


Early life and family

Infanta Elena was born on 20 December 1963 at Our Lady of Loreto Hospital, now known as ORPEA Madrid Loreto, in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. She is the first member to be born in hospital from King Juan Carlos I's family and she is eldest child of King Juan Carlos I, the former Spanish monarch, and his wife, Queen Sofía (the former Princess of Greece and Denmark), She has one sister and one brother. In 1987, Infanta Elena met her future husband while she was studying
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in
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.


Marriage

Elena married Jaime de Marichalar y Sáenz de Tejada, Lord of Tejada, son of Amalio de Marichalar y Bruguera, Count of Ripalda and his wife María de la Concepción Sáenz de Tejada y Fernández de Bobadilla, Lady of Tejada, on 18 March 1995, in
Seville Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...
,
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Penins ...
, at which time her father conferred on her the title Duchess of Lugo for life. The couple have two children: Felipe (born 17 July 1998) and
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(born 9 September 2000) were born at Ruber International Hospital in Madrid . On 13 November 2007, it was announced that Elena had separated from her husband. In November 2009, the Spanish media reported that she and her husband would divorce, although a rumour to that effect had been circulating for a year before the announcement was made. Their divorce papers were signed on 25 November 2009. The Duchess and Duke of Lugo were divorced in December 2009. On 21 January 2010, the divorce was registered at the Civil Registry of the Spanish Royal Family. It was officially announced on 9 February 2010, that Jaime de Marichalar was no longer permitted to use the ducal title and that he was no longer considered to be an official member of the
Spanish Royal Family The Spanish royal family consists of King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, their children (Leonor, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofía of Spain), and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at Zarzuela Palace ...
.


Titles, styles, honours and arms


Titles and styles

*20 December 1963 3 March 1995: ''Her Royal Highness''
Infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
Doña Elena of Spain *3 March 1995present: ''Her Royal Highness'' Infanta Doña Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo


Honours


National honours

*: ** Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...
** Dame Grand Cross of the
Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...
** Dame of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville ** Dame of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Zaragoza


Foreign honours

*: Grand Star of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria *: Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold I *: Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...
*: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour *: Grand Cross of the
Order of the Quetzal The Order of the Quetzal (Spanish: Orden del Quetzal) is Guatemala’s highest honor. History and award conditions Established in 1936, it is bestowed by the Government of Guatemala Politics of Guatemala takes place in a framework of a pr ...
*: Grand Cross of the
Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon ( is, Hin íslenska fálkaorða) is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. N ...
*: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...
*: Grand Cordon (Paulownia) of the Order of the Precious Crown *: Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Star of Jordan The Order of the Star of Jordan (Wisam al-Kawkab al-Urduni) or The Order of Hussein ibn Ali (Wisam al-Hussein ibn Ali) is an award and military decoration of the sovereign state of Jordan and is awarded for military or civil merit. It was founde ...
*: Grand Cross of the
Order of Adolphe of Nassau The Order of Civil and Military Merit of Adolph of Nassau (french: Ordre de Mérite civil et militaire d’Adolphe de Nassau) is an order of merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for meritorious service to the Grand Duke, the Grand-Ducal House a ...
*: Member 1st Class of the Order of the Three Divine Powers *: Knight Grand Cross of the
Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...
*: Grand Cross of the
Order of Saint Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...
*: Grand Cross of the
Order of the Sun of Peru Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of ...
*: Grand Cross of the Order of Christ *: Grand Cross of the
Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of ...
*: Recipient of the 50th Birthday Badge Medal of King Carl XVI Gustaf


Ancestry


See also

* Line of succession to the Spanish Throne


References


External links


Her Royal Highness the Infanta Elena (official profile)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elena Of Lugo, Duchess, Infanta 1963 births Living people Spanish infantas Daughters of kings House of Bourbon (Spain) Dukes of Lugo Alumni of the University of Exeter Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand Cordons of the Order of the Precious Crown Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Crosses of the Order of Honour (Greece) Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of the Quetzal Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Falcon Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Members of the Order of Tri Shakti Patta, First Class Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Spanish duchesses Spanish people of Greek descent