Sister Of Spain's Princess Letizia Dies
The youngest sister of Spain's Princess Letizia has died in Madrid at 31, the Royal Palace said Wednesday.
The cause of Erika Ortiz's death was not immediately revealed. Letizia's family issued a statement asking for "prudence and respect" in relation to the death.
Ortiz was the sister of Letizia, who married Crown Prince Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne in 2004. They have a 1-year-old daughter, Princess Leonor, and Letizia is pregnant with her second child and due to give birth in May.
Queen Sofia interrupted a trip to Indonesia on hearing of the death, the palace said. Spanish National Radio said the queen was in tears as she explained to reporters that she would return to Spain.
King Juan Carlos was in Germany and was due to return to Spain later Wednesday.
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A graduate in fine arts, Ortiz was the youngest of three daughters of journalist Jesus Ortiz and Paloma Rocasolano, a nurse. Princess Letizia is the eldest.
Ortiz worked at the Spanish production company Globomedia. She was married to Spanish sculptor Antonio Vigo and had a 6-year-old daughter, Carla.
The leading daily El Pais quoted Globomedia as saying Ortiz had asked for two days leave this week and was due to return to work Wednesday. The paper said she had suffered from stress in the past.
Ortiz had been living in the same apartment in the Madrid working class district of Vicalvaro that Letizia resided in before getting married.
A judge inspected the scene at the apartment where the body was found shortly after midday. The body was later taken to Madrid's Forensic Institute for an autopsy.
Ortiz's other sister, Telma, who works for Spain's aid and cooperation agency in Manila, Philippines, was to return Thursday, El Pais said.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told journalists he had conveyed his condolences to Prince Felipe and called for "maximum respect" for the family.