15 years ago: Letizia Ortiz with the Caprile of the three versions and Queen Sofía in Valentino to receive Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni (who dressed in Dior)

Three decades ago, the then president of the French Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, crossed the Pyrenees to make his first state visit to Spain. He did not do it alone, he was accompanied by his third wife – and second first lady during her term in office –, Carla Bruni, who stole media and popular attention. That April 27, 2009, the first day of the excursion, as is customary in this type of high-profile diplomatic meetings, the host, Juan Carlos I, offered a gala dinner in honor of its guests at the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Queen Sofia and the princes of Asturias, Felipe and Letiziathey did not want to miss the banquet.

The Italian mannequin and singer (Carla gorgoritea in French but she was born in Turin) chose a model signed by the house Christian Dior in closed midnight blue velvet, tight, sleeveless, small train, crew neck and neckline revealing the back. The epitome of what they call French chic. Queen Sofia premiered a Valentino red from the 2007 Haute Couture collection with empire silhouette effect (the one made fashionable by the empress Josephine Bonaparte), achieved thanks to the fantasy of beads embroidered on the chest and sleeves, appendages that the firm added at the royal request. Furthermore, she adorned herself with the necklace of Van cleef & Arpels –mounted as a choker and diadem– that the Greek shipowner Stavros Niarchos He gave the consort for their marriage in 1962. Some cabochon-cut rubies from Burma that he has never lent, in public, not even to his daughters, the infantas Elena and Cristina, nor to her daughter-in-law, the now queen Letizia; and that Bruni did not stop looking out of the corner of his eye, even though he could have been distracted by showing off his wristband and long diamond earrings.

The Princess of Asturias recycled, with some differences, the design of her pre-wedding. For that unpleasant –due to rainy– afternoon of May 21, 2004, the dressmaker Lorenzo Caprile She sewed an Alfonsine-inspired dress in platinum-colored natural silk shantung for the bride. The starting point for creating her design was the set of diamond, sapphire and pearl earrings and pendants that her fiancé had given her the previous November when they celebrated their engagement party. Following the exchange of gifts (a ring and cufflinks) with his partner, Felipe de Borbón confessed to the press that “In addition, we have other gifts that we are going to give each other later, although we have already anticipated them. “I’m going to give him a family jewel.”. Queen Sofia denied her son in her controversial second biography, The Queen very closewritten by Pilar Urbano, ensuring that it was a detail of her and her husband with the Asturian woman. The modest jewelry had belonged to the Countess of Barcelona, María de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleanspaternal grandmother of the lover.