by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2019
Members of the Spanish royal family are Roman Catholic. Having only two godparents, a man and a woman, is the usual practice in the Roman Catholic Church. The Spanish royal family’s christening gown was first used for King Juan Carlos’ christening in 1938. It has since been used by his children and grandchildren. The same Romanesque baptismal font has been used in the christenings of members of the Spanish Royal Family since the seventeenth century.
King Alfonso XIII of Spain
- Unofficial Royalty: King Alfonso XIII of Spain
- Parents: King Alfonso XII of Spain and Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria
- Born: May 17, 1886, at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Christened: May 22, 1886, in the Royal Chapel at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio
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Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain (Ena), born Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
Princess Victoria of Prussia holding her first cousin Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg by Alexander Bassano, half-plate glass negative, 1888, NPG x95917 © National Portrait Gallery, London
- Unofficial Royalty: Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, Queen of Spain
- Parents: Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom and Prince Henry of Battenberg
- Born: October 24, 1887, at Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- Christened in a Church of England ceremony: November 23, 1887, in the Drawing Room at Balmoral Castle in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
- Names: Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena
- Godparents:
- Eugénie, Empress of the French, born Eugénie de Montijo
- Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia, her maternal aunt, born Victoria, Princess Royal
- Julia, Princess of Battenberg, her paternal grandmother, born Countess Julia Hauke
- Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, her maternal aunt, born Princess Helena of the United Kingdom
- Prince Louis of Battenberg, her paternal uncle
- Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, her maternal uncle, the future Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
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Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Juan, in the arms of his mother, with his sister Maria Cristina; Credit – Wikipedia
- Unofficial Royalty: Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
- Parents: King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Queen Victoria Eugenie (Ena), born Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg
- Born: June 2, 1913, at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain
- Christened: June 24, 1913, in the Throne Room at the Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso in Segovia, Spain
- Names: Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso
- Godparents:
- Queen Maria Theresia of Bavaria, born Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este
- King Carol I of Romania
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King Juan Carlos I of Spain
Embed from Getty Images
Christening of Juan Carlos: Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain holds her grandson
- Unofficial Royalty: King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- Parents: Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
- Born: January 5, 1938, in Rome, Italy where the family had settled after the monarchy was overthrown in 1931 and Spain became a Republic
- Christened: January 26, 1938, at the Chapel of the Order of Malta in Rome, Italy by Cardinal Secretary of State of the Holy See, Monsignor Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII
- Names: Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María
- Godparents:
- Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, his paternal grandmother
- Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, his maternal grandfather
- Abdicated: June 19, 2014, in favor of his son King Felipe VI
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Queen Sofía of Spain, born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark
Embed from Getty Images
Sofia with her mother
- Unofficial Royalty: Queen Sofía of Spain
- Parents: King Paul of Greece and Princess Frederica of Hanover
- Born: November 2, 1938, at Villa Psychiko, in the suburbs of Athens, Greece
- Christened in a Greek Orthodox ceremony: January 9, 1939, in a Greek Orthodox ceremony at the Royal Palace in Athens, Greece
- Names: Sophia Margarita Victoria Federica
- Godparents:
- Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, wife of her father’s second cousin, later The Queen Mother, born The Honorable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
- Queen Elena of Italy, born Elena of Montenegro
- King George II of Greece, her paternal uncle
- Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, wife of her father’s first cousin, born Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
- Princess Irene of Greece, her paternal aunt
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Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo
Embed from Getty Images
Elena with her parents at her christening
- Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Elena of Spain, Duchess of Lugo
- Parents: King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofía, born Sophia of Greece and Denmark
Born: December 20, 1963, the Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, Spain - Christened: December 27, 1963, at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Elena María Isabel Dominica de Silos
- Godparents:
- María Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona, her paternal grandmother, born María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies
- Infante Alfonso of Spain, Duke of Galliera
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Infanta Cristina of Spain
- Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Cristina
- Parents: King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofía, born Sophia of Greece and Denmark
- Born: June 13, 1965, at the Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, Spain
- Christened: June 20, 1965, at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Cristina Federica Victoria Antonia de la Santísima Trinidad
- Godparents:
- Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, her first cousin once removed
- Infanta Maria Cristina of Spain, her paternal great-aunt
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King Felipe VI of Spain
Queen Victoria Eugenie holding Felipe at his baptism, his other godparent Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona is in the middle of the photo; Credit – www.casareal.es
- Unofficial Royalty: King Felipe VI of Spain
- Parents: King Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofía, born Sophia of Greece and Denmark
- Born: January 30, 1968, at the Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, Spain
- Christened: February 8, 1968, at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos
- Godparents:
- Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, his paternal grandfather
- Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain, his paternal great-grandmother, the widow of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who returned to Spain for the first time since she and her husband were exiled in 1931
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Queen Letizia of Spain, born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
- Unofficial Royalty: Queen Letizia of Spain
- Parents: Jesús José Ortiz Álvarez and his first wife María de la Paloma Rocasolano Rodríguez
- Born: September 15, 1972, in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
- Christened: September 29, 1972, at the San Francisco de Asís Church in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain
- Names: Letizia
- Godparents:
- Francisco Rocasolano Rodríguez, her maternal uncle
- Cristina Ortiz Álvarez, her paternal aunt
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Infanta Leonor, Princess of Asturias
- Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Leonor, Princess of Asturias
- Parents: King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia, born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
- Born: October 31, 2005, at the Ruber International Clinic in Madrid, Spain
- Christened: January 14, 2006, at Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Leonor de Todos los Santos
- Godparents:
- King Juan Carlos I of Spain, her paternal grandfather
- Queen Sofía of Spain, her paternal grandmother
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Infanta Sofía of Spain
- Unofficial Royalty: Infanta Sofía of Spain
- Parents: King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia, born Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
- Born: April 29, 2007, at the Ruber International Clinic in Madrid, Spain
- Christened: July 15, 2007, in the gardens of Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Spain
- Names: Sofía de Todos los Santos
- Godparents:
- Paloma Rocasolano, her maternal grandmother
- Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin, her father’s friend, the son of former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria
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