Letizia Ortiz is about to give Kate Middleton a run for her money. From her humble beginnings as a news reporter, to being the news itself, Ortiz, the Princess of Asturias, will be the Spain’s first Spanish-born queen since 1879.

Slated to become a queen after the abdication of King Juan Carlos from the Spanish throne, the 41-year-old might become the world’s most glamorous queen. Her background is actually quite similar to Britain’s Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge. However, Ortiz had already been a well known news reporter in her country prior to marrying into royalty.

BREAKING: King Juan Carlos will relinquish the throne, Crown Prince Felipe to be Spain’s next King pic.twitter.com/t87woFy4aJ

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 2, 2014

In 2004, the commoner married Prince Felipe and they now have two daughters.

Relive the romantic wedding of Spain’s future king: http://t.co/N4Ucwv3WN6 pic.twitter.com/9d0pxL6fYd

— HELLO! (@hellomag) June 2, 2014

See Princess Letizia’s transformation from journalist to future queen : http://t.co/x0v7bgjH33 pic.twitter.com/oJNBhnPNNJ

— HELLO! (@hellomag) June 2, 2014

Generally speaking, the princess is not known for being flashy when it comes to her fashion sense.  Just like Kate Middleton, Ortiz repeats some of her outfits, as chronicled by the blogs dedicated to the Spanish royal’s style moves.

Her commoner background, and her status as a divorcee, raised a lot of eyebrows in Spain when she first became involved with the prince. It was not until the suicide of her sister Erika in 2007 that she won the sympathy of the people during her silent grieving.

Prince Felipe fell in love with Ortiz while she was covering the Prestige oil tanker disaster in 2002. At the time, the prince offered his support to those affected by the tragedy. The two dated in secret for several months, before announcing their engagement in November 2003.

Letizia Ortiz is well known for being independent, and once famously interrupted her husband by saying “Let me finish!” during their official engagement presentation.

In terms of fashion, Spain is not that well regarded on the international stage, with only limited brands such as Balenciaga and Zara making rounds in the industry recently. Will Ortiz become the royal trendsetter who puts Spanish fashion on the map? Many in the world of fashion and entertainment will certainly have her on their radar.

Image via Wikimedia Commons