Queen Letizia exercises rare privilege, and strict protocol, as she hosts Pope Leo in Spain
Queen Letizia has put on a sartorial display of royal fashion protocol as she and her husband hosted the leader of the Catholic church, Pope Leo XIV, during his week-long visit to Spain.
King Felipe VI and his wife were among the guests at a service in Barcelona on Wednesday which saw the Pontiff inaugurate the newest, and tallest, tower of the city’s iconic Sagrada Família basilica.
Queen Letizia wore white for all three of her meetings with Pope Leo XIV, including here at the Inauguration of the tower of Jesus Christ at the Basilica of the Sagrada Família. Vatican Pool/Getty Images
It is Pope Leo’s first visit to the Catholic nation in 15 years and began his time there by holding a reception with the king and queen at the royal palace in Madrid on Saturday.
The following day, the Pontiff celebrated an open-air mass in the Spanish capital which saw more than a million people lined the streets of Madrid.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia were among the worshippers at the Sunday mass, marking the third day they had attended an event with Pope Leo during his time in Spain.
And each time the 53-year-old queen was in the presence of the Pontiff she wore white, exercising a privilege only Letizia and a handful of other female royals have when meeting with the leader of the Catholic church.
In contrast, Letizia and Felipe’s two daughters Princess Leonor, 20, and Infanta Sofia, 19, wore black on one occasion and pastels on another.
There is a strict dress code that must be adhered to, and select royal women worldwide have been granted the special honour of wearing something other than black.
Known as the ‘privilège du blanc’, or the privilege of the white, the honour allows select royal women to wear white in the presence of the Pontiff.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, wore black in keeping with the privilege of the white rules. Getty Images
Just seven senior royals from around the world officially qualify for the ‘privilège du blanc’ dress code: the wearing of a white outfit with a white head covering.
In Italian, the official language of the Holy See, the rule is known as il privilegio del blanco.
Those that have been granted the rare honour are Queen Letizia of Spain and her mother-in-law Queen Sofia, Queen Mathilde of Belgium and her mother-in-law Queen Paola, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Princess Marina of the House of Savoy (in Italy) and Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg.
The honour is extended to royals from Catholic countries and to the royal houses whose regents have been given the title ‘(Most) Catholic Majesty’, or Rex catholicissimus, and who preside over a predominately Catholic country.
The royal family welcomed Pope Leo to the Royal Palace in Madrid on Saturday as he began a seven-day visit to Spain, the first by a Pontiff in 15 years. Europa Press
Catholic monarchs who have remained loyal to the Vatican over the centuries are granted the privilege and the wearing of white is symbolic of the purity and innocence of these heads of state.
Others who meet the Pontiff usually wear black or muted colours.
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