Juan Carlos I was born into the Spanish Royal family on January 5, 1938 in Rome, Italy.

Juan Carlos spent most of his youth in Italy. After graduating from high school he attended the Military Academy of Zaragoza, Spain from 1955--1957.

On March 29, 1956, tragedy struck the family.

During the Easter holiday, Juan Carlos visited his family at their villa in Portugal. Returning from mass, Juan Carlos’s younger brother, Alfonso, ran up to his room to see his brother.

Juan Carlos was playing with a gun supposedly given to Alfonso by General Franco. Showing off, and under the impression that the gun was not loaded, Juan Carlos pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off a wall and Alfonso was hit in the forehead. He died within minutes.

Juan Carlos was 18 years old. Alfonso was 14.

Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece in Athens on May 14, 1962. Sophia converted from her Greek Orthodox religion to Roman Catholicism in order to become Spain’s future queen.

The couple have three children:

Elena--born 1963

Cristina--born 1965

Felipe--born 1968

Infanta Elena has two children:

Felipe--born 1998

Victoria--born 2000

She and her husband Jaime de Marichalar are divorced.

Felipe and Victoria.

Cristina is married to Iñaki Urdangarín.

They have four children:

Juan--born 1999

Pablo--born 2000

Miguel--born 2002

Irene--born 2005

Felipe attended high school in Ontario, Canada, where he learned to speak perfect English. After graduating, he returned to Madrid, Spain where he earned his law degree.

Tall, dark, handsome, intelligent, cultured, and rich, Felipe was considered one of the world's most eligible bachelors.

He said he would only marry for love and dated many women before meeting his future wife at a dinner party in 2002.

Many were not impressed with Philip’s choice for a wife. Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano was considered a middle-class commoner. Her dad was a journalist and her mother was a nurse.

Even though Letizia was an award-winning journalist with a masters degree, she was considered unworthy of the crown. The engagement was considered even more scandalous after news of Letizia’s divorce was made public.