The Most Inappropriate Outfits Queen Letizia Has Worn

Queen Letizia of Spain is sort of like the Princess Catherine of the Spanish royal family -– she was a commoner who rose to queenhood (something Catherine can expect for her future) once she caught the eye of a prince — after which Letizia's life was never the same. She and Prince Felipe of Asturias (the title given to the Spanish heir apparent) married in 2004. Some 10 years later, Felipe's father, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated the throne amid health problems and scandals, and Felipe and Letizia became the new king and queen, respectively.

Letizia has been a fairly popular queen, and her fashion sense has attracted international attention. However, some of her outfits — like the ones below — can be considered inappropriate by royal standards. Royals have to maintain a certain sense of decorum in public, no matter the event, but Letizia seems to want to dress for herself rather than for her duties. And you simply have to take your duties very seriously indeed if you're queen of a major country. You're not on the catwalk at a fashion show, you're representing a vast number of people.

The truth is, Kate Middleton's royal wardrobe is hard to beat, as she balances conservative fits with modern styles. While you would never see Princess Catherine wearing shorts to a formal engagement, Queen Letizia has done just that. In 2010, the then-princess donned knee-length shorts when attending the opening of a research center. 

While it wouldn't be practical for royal women to dress in lavish ensembles every waking hour, wearing shorts to an important event is an odd choice. In this case, Letizia's outfit choice was also confusing because she paired the shorts with a pair of heels, jacket, and scarf. 

Back in 2010, Queen Letizia was not the experienced monarch that she is today. At the time, she was still a princess. Prior to marrying into the royal family in 2004, she had been a successful journalist who would travel the world to cover everything from war crimes to environmental crises. As such, many of Letizia's style choices reflected her own background in the corporate world. Unfortunately, many people did not feel that Letizia's business casual slacks and button-up shirts were fit for a princess.

This was obvious in 2010 when the future queen attended the Spanish National Day festivities. Dressed in a pair of gray pants and a salmon collared shirt, Letizia would have fit right in at a company-wide meeting. When it came to blending in at an official event, though, the newly-minted royal totally missed the mark. Her business casual outfit came across as too casual for the nature of the event. Historically speaking, women in the Spanish royal family have mostly worn knee-length skirts to National Day events — Letizia's choice essentially broke protocol. Years later, the Spanish publication Semana called out the outfit for its inappropriateness for the proceedings. Letizia apparently took note, opting to wear knee-length dresses and skirts at future National Day celebrations.

In 2017, Queen Letizia came under fire once again for wearing clothing that was not quite royal enough for an occasion. At the Luis Carandell Journalism Awards ceremony, Letizia handed out awards in a short white dress paired with black nylons. She tied the outfit together with a thin black peacoat that she wore over her shoulders. The result was an adorable outfit that practically screamed "corporate chic." The only problem? Many people worried that Letizia's ensemble was not right for a royal.

According to the blog Royalista, many fans of the Spanish royal family reacted to Letizia's outfit with criticism (via Daily Mail). The main issue was, apparently, that her dress exposed too much skin to be appropriate for a royal consort. In some people's view, the queen of Spain needed to honor her titles by respecting centuries-old protocols that favored long skirts over shorter ones. Letizia's so-called misstep was accentuated by the fact that 2017 saw her as a veteran royal with approximately 13 years of experience in the palace — approximately three of which she had spent as queen. By then, she knew the rules, and some fans wondered why she didn't just follow them.

While attending a concert in celebration of the Spanish Constitution's 40th anniversary, Queen Letizia donned a blue dress with a plunging neckline — very plunging — covered in lace. A pair of matching blue heels, a clutch bag, and a pair of earrings completed the look. While the dress itself is beautiful, it was quite risqué for royalty. 

Showing off cleavage is just a big no-no for royals in general, let alone queen consorts. Princess Diana famously used handbags positioned in front of her chest to avoid photographers ever getting a glimpse. Clearly, Letizia has other ideas.

Some of Queen Letizia's most stylish moments occurred in 2022; however, in April, she wore one of her most unusual ensembles yet — a baby pink coat with a floral design. The coat's childish color didn't suit Letizia and made her look more doll-like than royalty. When you're queen of an entire country, you need to take pains not to let the clothes wear you, and that appears to be what happened here.

The event was quite an important one — a lunch for the Prime Minister and First Lady of Bulgaria — and the coat, complete with matching pink shoes and bare legs that only added to the juvenile vibe, failed to reflect the significance of the event.

The incident at the Luis Carandell Journalism Awards ceremony would not be the last time that Queen Letizia was called out for showing too much skin. The Spanish royal faced criticism just five years later after attending a Red Cross event meant to recognize aid workers. On this occasion, Letizia wore a bright pink dress that fell to her ankles. Its round neckline remained high, and its sleeves stretched all the way down to her wrists. Nevertheless, the queen was accused of indecency because of the cutouts around her midsection. These little slits in the fabric allowed royal fans to catch a glimpse of Letizia's abs.

Once again, the queen's outfit sparked a debate around whether or not Letizia has an obligation to uphold royal protocol. While royal women like Queen Elizabeth chose to wear such bright colors so she could be seen by the adoring public, you would've never caught her pairing her bright shades with skin-baring designs, even in her youth. Additionally, past queens of Spain had never worn anything similar. However, Letizia was trying to be a different kind of queen. Still, some of her fans worried that her outfit broke with age-old traditions about royal clothing.

Like many other royal women throughout history, Queen Letizia has tried to support companies based in her own country. Since marrying King Felipe, Letizia has flaunted outfits created by a number of local designers. She has also purchased pieces from larger brands like Mango and Zara — both of which are based in Spain. Unfortunately, however, Letizia's affinity for Zara, in particular, has not always been well-received. The reason? Zara is labeled a "fast fashion" brand, and its critics say that the brand causes environmental waste.

In 2019, when Letizia wore a black Zara tweed dress to a palace event, some outlets initially applauded her for wearing something affordable. However, over the years, the queen has likely noticed that the coverage of her fast fashion outfits has become increasingly negative. As Spaniards have gained more awareness regarding the controversy surrounding Zara, Letizia has found her name in a number of articles criticizing the brand. One piece in Fortune, which questioned Zara's ability to go green, mentioned the queen as one of the brand's biggest champions.

Only time can tell whether or not the royal consort will react to the negative press, but at least one expert believes that the time is coming. As Spanish fashion specialist, Carmen Valor, told DW, "Environmentally conscious consumers will be ratcheting up the pressure, although we here in Spain may not be so much aware of it right now."

A formal outfit typically calls for a formal pair of shoes. At least, that's according to Spanish fashion expert Jesus Reyes. As he noted in an interview with Mujer.Es, many professionals in Spain feel pressured to dress up their footwear. "Going to the office or workplace in sneakers or tennis shoes is something that — even in today's day and age — can be difficult to be accepted in certain sectors. Both for men and for women," he said. Loafers, heels, or formal boots tend to be the norm in any kind of Spanish work environment. So when Queen Letlizia began attending official events in casual sneakers, many of her fans were shocked.

On Spain's Armed Forces Day in May 2024, Letizia visited the city of Oviedo dressed in an attractive red pantsuit that was reminiscent of one of Princess Catherine's best looks of 2023. As appropriate as this part of the ensemble was, many members of the public balked upon noticing the white pair of sneakers that Letizia paired with the outfit. The Spanish fashion magazine, Look, even called referred to her footwear as "ugly shoes." 

While Letizia's shoes may have been inappropriate for the event, it was reported that Letizia was suffering from a type of foot pain called chronic metatarsalgia — and that her sneakers were more about protecting her health than fulfilling social norms.