Not many are lucky enough to celebrate their birthday at the White House, but Queen Letizia of Spain did just that on Tuesday, as she and her husband King Felipe VI of Spain visited Washington D.C. this week. The royals met up with President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, at theWhite House, where Letizia, who was turning 43, enjoyed afternoon tea with the First Lady and toured her organic vegetable garden.
It marked the first time theObamas received the royal couple at their official residence, but was also a reunionfor Letizia and Michelle, who visited the Spanish royals in Mallorcawith daughter Sasha in 2010.
Felipe and Letizia began their day at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington. The pairgot a tour of the estate, meeting volunteers dressed in period costume, andlaid a wreath at the tomb of the first president of the United States.
Letizia looked chic in a fitted white blazer over a black-and-white floral dress, and she and her husband were affectionate as they posed for photos in the estate's vast gardens.
After a visit to the Capitol building, where the King helda meeting with the Senate's Committee on Foreign Affairs, the pair ended their day with a reception where they met members of Washington'sSpanish community.
The DC jaunt is a homecoming of sorts for the King – in 1995, he earned a masters degree in international relations from Georgetown University, where his roommate was his cousin, Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece and Prince of Denmark. This time around, though, his stop in the nation's capital is part of an official visit to the U.S. that will also see the royal couple spend time in Florida.
On Wednesday, Letizia is visiting the National CancerInstitute while her husband meets U.S. businessmen, and in the evening theywill be attending a dinner at his alma mater after the King opens anAmerican-Spanish scientific conference.
The following day, the Spanish royal couple will fly to Floridawhere Felipe will deliver an address at Miami Dade College followed by apresentation at the Spanish Film Festival at the Olympia Theatre.
Friday will see the couple visit St. Augustine to celebratethe city's 450th anniversary before they head home to Spain and back to their two children, Princess Leonor, 9, and Princess Sofia, 8.
