Who is Queen Letizia of Spain? The TV reporter who became one of the world's most glamorous royals

It is an important day for one of the world's most glamorous royals asQueen Letizia of Spain, the radiant wife of King Felipe VI, celebrates her 51^st birthday.

Born on 15 September 1972 as Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, the queen came from a middle-class family in Otezia, Northern Spain. Her parents were journalist Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez and nurse María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez.

Much like her father, Letizia harboured ambitions to become a journalist, ultimately pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the field at the Complutense University of Madrid. After the end of her degree, the future queen doubled down, gaining a master’s degree in audiovisual journalism from the Institute for Audiovisual Journalism Studies. On graduating, she worked at both the Spanish language versions of both Bloomberg and CNN. During her time as a journalist, she reported on major events including 9/11 and the Iraq War. In 1998, she married Alonso Guerrero Pérez, a writer, but they divorced just one year later.

In 2004, she married then Prince Felipe of Asturias, son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain. The couple had met at a mutual friend's dinner party two years prior. It was a happy and glamorous day that felt like a fairytale and made headlines around the world due to the queen's status as a ‘commoner’ and her previous career in journalism, which she was forced to give up for royal duties.

Letizia became the Queen of Spain in 2014 when King Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of his son. The couple share two children, Princess Leonor, 17, and Infanta Sofia, 16. Felipe and Letizia were recently pictured together, waving off Leonor who just began her required military training. The two have been praised for their work as king and queen, particularly for their recognition of the LGBT community.

To celebrate Letizia's birthday, Tatler presents a gallery of the life and times of one of the world’s most popular royals.