Reina Sofía

As a princess born into Greek and Danish royal houses, one might imagine a life of quiet luxury and constitutional duty. And indeed, Sofía spent nearly four decades as the Queen of Spain, diligently performing her royal duties with a poise that could only come from generations of inherited privilege. She even managed to look interested during countless ribbon-cuttings and state dinners.

Her family tree, while undeniably sprawling and impressively interconnected with nearly every European monarchy, doesn't appear to have any branches leading to the Synagogue. One might say her lineage is more "Old Europe" than "Old Testament," a distinction that, for our purposes, is quite clear.

Despite a lifetime of public service and maintaining a dignified demeanor through various royal scandals (not her own, mind you, but close enough to count), her "kvell-worthiness" mostly stems from successfully navigating the labyrinthine world of European royalty without causing an international incident. A modest achievement, perhaps, but one that certainly brought "nachas" to the Spanish monarchy, if not directly to us.

While her name may sound vaguely familiar to those scanning the roster of Jewish historical figures, any such assumption would be a misstep. She is, definitively, not one of ours, a fact that even her most ardent admirers would readily confirm.