Juan Carlos I in the context of "Infanta Alicia, Duchess of Calabria"

Sofía (Sophia Margarita Victoria Frederica; Greek: Σοφία Μαργαρίτα Βικτώρια Φρειδερίκη, romanized: Sofía Margaríta Bictória Freideríki; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I until his abdication. She is the eldest child of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece.

Sofía married then Infante Juan Carlos of Spain in 1962 and became queen of Spain upon her husband's accession in 1975. On 19 June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of their son Felipe VI. Since her spouse's abdication, Doña Sofía has usually been referred to as reina emérita ('queen emerita') by the press.

The Spanish royal family comprises Felipe VI and his immediate family, these are Queen Letizia; their children, Leonor, Princess of Asturias, and Infanta Sofía; and Felipe's parents, King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía. The royal family lives at the Palace of Zarzuela in Madrid, although their official residence is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The membership of the royal family is defined by royal decree and consists of: the King of Spain, the monarch's spouse, the monarch's parents, his children, and the heir to the Spanish throne.

The Spanish Constitution (Spanish: Constitución Española) is the supreme law of the Kingdom of Spain. It was enacted after its approval in 1978 in a constitutional referendum; it represents the culmination of the Spanish transition to democracy.

The current version was approved in 1978, three years after the death of dictator Francisco Franco. There have been dozens of constitutions and constitution-like documents in Spain; however, it is "the first which was not imposed by a party but represented a negotiated compromise among all the major parties". It was sanctioned by King Juan Carlos I on 27 December, before it was published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (the government gazette of Spain) on 29 December, the date on which it became effective.

King Juan Carlos I of Spain announced his pending abdication from the throne on 2 June 2014. An organic law permitting the abdication, required by the 1978 Constitution in its article 57.5, was drafted by the government and approved by the Cortes Generales, and was formally signed on 18 June during a ceremony in the Hall of Columns [es] of the Royal Palace of Madrid. The abdication became effective when it was published in the Official State Gazette at midnight on 19 June.

The Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón y Grecia, succeeded the throne under the name Felipe VI on the abdication of his father. Juan Carlos retained the title of king emeritus with ceremonial functions entrusted to him by Felipe.

Felipe VI (Spanish: [feˈlipe ˈseksto]; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain.

Felipe was born in Madrid during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco as the third child and only son of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (later King and Queen of Spain). He was officially created Prince of Asturias in 1977, two years after his father became king, and was formally proclaimed as prince in 1986. At the age of nine, Felipe was made an honorary officer of the Spanish Army. He was educated at Santa María de los Rosales School in Madrid and attended Lakefield College School in Canada. Later, he studied law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States.

The Zarzuela Palace (Spanish: Palacio de la Zarzuela [paˈlaθjo ðe la θaɾˈθwela]) is the residence and working offices of the reigning monarch of Spain (King Felipe VI), although the official residence of the Spanish royal family is the Royal Palace of Madrid. The Zarzuela Palace is on the outskirts of Madrid, near the Royal Palace of El Pardo, which accommodates visiting heads of state. The palace is owned by the Spanish government and administered by a state agency named Patrimonio Nacional (National Heritage).

The Zarzuela Palace was the home of King Juan Carlos I from May 1962 until his departure to live abroad in August 2020, following allegations of financial impropriety. It has not been announced whether it will remain the home of his wife, Queen Sofía, who did not accompany Juan Carlos abroad. Although King Felipe VI has his office in the palace, he and his family live in the Pabellón del Príncipe on the grounds just east of the Zarzuela Palace.

Sofía (Sophia Margarita Victoria Frederica; Greek: Σοφία Μαργαρίτα Βικτωρία Φρειδερίκη, romanized: Sofía Margaríta Victoría Freideríki; born 2 November 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who was Queen of Spain from 1975 to 2014 as the wife of King Juan Carlos I until his abdication. She is the eldest child of King Paul and Queen Frederica of Greece.

Sofía married then Infante Juan Carlos of Spain in 1962 and became queen of Spain upon her husband's accession in 1975. On 19 June 2014, Juan Carlos abdicated in favour of their son Felipe VI. Since her spouse's abdication, Doña Sofía has usually been referred to as reina emérita ('queen emerita') by the press.

The Spanish transition to democracy, known in Spain as la Transición (IPA: [la tɾansiˈθjon]; 'the Transition') or la Transición española ('the Spanish Transition'), was a period of modern Spanish history encompassing the regime change that moved from the Francoist dictatorship to the consolidation of a parliamentary system, in the form of constitutional monarchy under Juan Carlos I.

The democratic transition began two days after the death of Francisco Franco, in November 1975. Initially, "the political elites left over from Francoism" attempted "reform of the institutions of dictatorship" through existing legal means, but social and political pressure saw the formation of a democratic parliament in the 1977 general election, which had the imprimatur to write a new constitution that was then approved by referendum in December 1978. The following years saw the beginning of the development of the rule of law and establishment of regional government, amidst ongoing terrorism, an attempted coup d'état and global economic problems. The Transition is said to have concluded after the landslide victory of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) in the 1982 general election and the first peaceful transfer of executive power.