About Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria
Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria, 2nd Duchess of Hernani (Margarita María de la Victoria Esperanza Jacoba Felicidad Perpetua de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón; born 6 March 1939), is the younger sister of King Juan Carlos I and aunt of the reigning King Felipe VI of Spain. She is the oldest living Infanta of Spain. == Early life == Infanta Margarita was born at the Hotel Firenze Anglo American in Rome on 6 March 1939, during the exile of the Spanish royal family following the Spanish Civil War. She was the third child and youngest daughter of Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona, and Princess María de las Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, following her siblings Infanta Pilar and Infante Juan Carlos, the future King of Spain. Her family had left Spain after the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, and she spent her earliest years abroad, first in Italy and later in Portugal. She was baptised shortly after her birth in the Spanish church of Santa María de Montserrat in Rome. Margarita was born blind, a condition diagnosed in infancy after her family noticed the absence of normal visual responses. Her mother consulted numerous specialists during her early childhood in an unsuccessful attempt to find a cure, even undertaking a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of Fátima in 1946 in the hope of a miraculous recovery. Her blindness remained permanent and would shape much of her upbringing and public image. Despite this, she was raised with an emphasis on independence and adaptability.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.