AP Features, February 8th, 2007
Erika Ortiz, the youngest sister of Spain's Crown Princess Letizia, was to be cremated on Thursday in Madrid, the Royal Palace said, as her sudden death topped the headlines across the country.
King Juan Carlos was among those expected to attend a prayer service at a Madrid funeral parlor before the cremation, along with his son Crown Prince Felipe and daughter-in-law Letizia.
Ortiz, 31, was found dead in the bedroom in her Madrid apartment by her boyfriend on Wednesday.
Her death was front-page news in all major papers Thursday and dominated radio and television talk shows.
El Pais quoted Globomedia, the TV production company where she worked, as saying Ortiz had been on sick leave for stress and anxiety.
The paper said Ortiz, who recently returned to her post, had asked for two days' leave this week and was due to return to work Wednesday. El Pais said she had suffered from stress in the past.
The cause of her death was not immediately revealed. Her family issued a statement shortly after her death asking for "prudence and respect".
In an obituary, El Mundo said Ortiz had spent years trying to establish herself professionally amid the success of her two elder sisters _ Letizia was a well-known TV anchorwoman before marrying Felipe _ and had a troubled relationship with Antonio Vigo, a struggling artist who was the father of her 6-year-old daughter, Carla.
The obituary was entitled "the fragile, youngest sister."
Queen Sofia, who cut short an official visit to Indonesia, was returning to Madrid later Thursday. Media reports said she burst into tears upon learning of Erika Ortiz's death.
Letizia married Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne, in 2004.
A judge inspected the scene at the apartment where the body was found shortly after midday Wednesday. Later Ortiz's body was taken to Madrid's Forensic Institute for an autopsy.
