Queen Letizia and King Felipe of Spain have posed for striking new portraits taken by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz.

American portrait artist Leibovitz, 75, who famously photographed the late Queen Elizabeth in the White Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace in 2007, shot the Spanish royals at the Royal Palace of Madrid, their official residence in the country’s capital. 

Leibovitz, who has more Rolling Stone covers than any other photographer, is the brains behind hundreds of famous photos including Demi Moore’s 1991 nude Vanity Fair cover and a Polaroid of John Lennon nude with Yoko Ono, just five hours before his death.

But her latest work  channels Old Hollywood glamour, with Letizia, 52, opting to wear a spectacular black, strapless ballgown designed by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga.

With ruching on the bodice and an A-line skirt, the gown looks stunning on the queen’s petite frame.

While the mother-of-two has a crimson, satin shawl draped around her arms, the most eye-catching part of her ensemble is undoubtedly her diamond necklace.

Known as  Queen Ena’s Diamond Riviere necklace, it pairs perfectly with the large diamond drop earrings that Letizia is wearing.

The former journalist wore her brown hair in loose waves for the portrait, which was taken in the Royal Palace’s lavish Gasparini Hall in February, and added smoky eye make-up and nude lipstick. 

Shot by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz, the two new portraits of Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI were released on Tuesday 

Letizia, 52, looks spectacular in a black, strapless ballgown designed by Spanish couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga 

King Felipe cuts a handsome figure in his military uniform complete with the blue sash, which signifies the highest-ranking civilian order in Spain, known as Grand Cross with Collar

Meanwhile, King Felipe, 56, cuts a handsome figure in his military uniform complete with the blue sash, which signifies the highest-ranking civilian order in Spain, known as Grand Cross with Collar. 

The portraits, which, as a diptych, match perfectly, are currently on display at the National Bank in Madrid.

While they have not yet been posted to the official Instagram account of the Spanish royals, the portraits have been well-received by royal fans, with a number posting them on their own accounts dedicated to Spain’s royal family. 

Described as ‘jaw-dropping’ and ‘stunning’ by royal watchers, the portraits also present Letizia and Felipe as a strong team in the year of their twentieth wedding anniversary.

The powerful images suggest the Spanish royals have moved on from the ‘affair’ allegations made by Letizia’s former brother-in-law in November 2023. 

The portraits, which, as a diptych, match perfectly, are currently on display at the National Bank in Madrid

The Spanish media reported in February that the royal couple had invited Annie Leibovitz to take their portraits to mark their milestone anniversary, which took place on May 22.

Leibovitz has captured royals before, including Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, and was the woman behind the last portrait of John Lennon taken just a few hours before he was killed.

Her images have also graced the covers of major fashion magazines Vogue and Vanity Fair.  

The Spanish royal couple’s last official portraits were shot by photographer Estela de Castro inside the Royal Palace of Madrid in 2020. 

The Spanish royal couple’s last official portraits (pictured) were shot by photographer Estela de Castro inside the Royal Palace of Madrid in 2020

Letizia stunned in a hot pink gown with silver embroidery by Carolina Herrera in October 2019, previously worn to the ascension to the throne of Emperor Naruhito.

She accessorised with dazzling jewellery, including the Tiara de las Flores de Lis, made of platinum and diamonds which sports the Fleurs de Lys emblem of the House of Bourbon, which has been in the Spanish royal family since King Alfonso XIII offered it to Queen Ena as a wedding gift in 1906.

She paired the tiara with diamond encrusted bracelets by Cartier and round drop earrings, also made from diamonds.

Letizia sported the sash and plaque of the Grand Cross of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Carlos III.

In the gala portrait, Felipe wore a large selection of his own royal orders, including the scallop of the Order of the Golden Fleece, the great necklace of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Carlos III, the plaque of the Royal and Distinguished Order of Carlos III and the plates of the Great Crosses of Military Merit, Naval Merit and Aeronautical Merit.

Leibovitz   was the first American photographer invited to snap photos of the late Queen Elizabeth. 

However, things quickly went amiss during the first shoot – she was told she’d only be allowed 25 minutes and that the pictures had to be taken at Buckingham Palace, despite her wanting to take them elsewhere.

According to Vogue, the Queen arrived ‘not in a terribly good mood’ – and that she showed up wearing her crown, which Leibovitz didn’t want in the photos.

Photographer Annie Leibovitz is pictured with the Queen in 2007

‘I wanted a straightforward, intelligent portrait,’ she explained.

When she asked the royal to take off the tiara so that the pictures would come off as ‘less dressy,’ she said the Monarch responded, ‘Less dressy! What do you think this is?’

After the ‘misunderstanding’ was sorted – they included the crown for some of the photos but not all – she said the Queen ‘settled into the shoot and became quiet.’

The two then shared an intimate moment, when the Queen told Leibovitz that she thought her late sister, Margaret, who passed away in 2002, would have done a better job.

‘She said, “I think Princess Margaret would have been a much better subject,”‘ recalled the photographer.

Leibovitz, seen with one of her photos of the Queen at the Women: New Portraits exhibition in 2016, told Vogue that she was brought to tears while remembering the Queen’s admission

‘That moment of vulnerability – it makes me cry right now to think of it… that there was this moment in the middle of the session when she thought that maybe she was not a good enough subject, that she kind of questions herself. We got to see all sides of her that day.’

Nearly a decade later, Leibovitz was invited back to photograph the Monarch again. This time, in honor of her 90th birthday, she wanted the shoot to take place at Windsor Castle and include her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and corgis.

Leibovitz said the kids were ‘running around’ – and while it was ‘endearing,’ it was also a bit ‘chaotic.’

She admitted that it was hard for them to get the perfect photo, especially because one of the Queen’s great-granddaughters – Mia Tindall, daughter of Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall – wouldn’t sit still.

But the moment finally emerged after they gave Mia something to distract her – the Queen’s purse.

‘Mia wouldn’t get in the picture. She was running around,’ Leibovitz said. ‘Finally, the Queen gave her her purse and Mia started going through it and walked back into the picture and we quickly took a couple of frames.’