The King and Queen of Spain recreated a photograph of their first public interaction 20 years later amidst the recent celebrations of the Princess of Asturias Awards.
Then the Prince of Asturias, Felipe was photographed shaking the hand of television journalist Letizia Ortiz at the Reconquista Hotel in Oviedo following the awards (then known as The Prince of Asturias Awards).
Traditionally, TVE broadcasts the awards, and the Spanish royals meet with the team afterwards to thank them for their work. This year, the King and Queen couldn’t help but recreate the moment from 20 years earlier
Back in 2003, to the general public, this was just another handshake between a member of the Spanish Royal Family and a member of the media; but secretly, the couple had been dating and were days away from publicly announcing their engagement.
At the time of the original photograph, Letizia worked as a reporter for TVE, the Spanish-state broadcaster, and had covered the US Presidential elections in 2000; the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001; and reported live from Iraq during the Iraq War in 2003.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia announced their engagement on 1 November 2003 and were married on 22 May 2004.
