Dona SOFIA DE GRECIA Y HANNOVER was born in Athens on November 2nd, 1938. She was the first born daugther of the King and Queen of Greece, Paul I and Federika. Her family belongs to one of the oldest Royal Houses in Europe and is related to the Czars of Russia, the German Emperors and Queen Victoria of Great Britain.

She spent part of her childhood in Egypt and South Africa, as her family was obliged to go into exile during the Second World War. She returned to her country in 1946, completed her education at the prestigious German boarding school of Schloss Salem, and, having returned to Athens, specialized in paediatrics, music and archaelogy. She took part as a reserve for the Greek sailing team in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

On May 14th 1962 she married Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon y Borbon, and in subsequent years her three children were born: Infanta Elena on December 20th, 1963, Infanta Cristina on June 13th, 1965, and Prince Felipe on January 30th, 1968.

In addition to taking part in institutional events, the Queen devotes a great deal of attention to social and charity activities. She is the executive president of the Queen Sofia Foundation, which in 1993 has sent the major part of its funds to help Bosnia, and honorary president of the Royal Board on Education and Care of Handicapped Persons, and the Foundation for Aid for Drug Addicts. She takes special interest in this latter problem, taking part personally in conferences and meetings on the subject both in Spain and abroad.

Her help for the underprivileged is not confined to resolving specific situations, but also extends to progress in the field of research and to encouraging initiatives and cooperation agreements designed to prevent them from arising or to palliate their effects.

With regards to culture, Queen Sofia's fondness for music is well known. The Queen is an honorary member of the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts, and holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Valladolid and, together with the King, from Cambridge.