Queen Sofia Of Spain at The Sophia Award for Excellence

The Sophia Award for Excellence was awarded to legendary Spanish Tenor Placido Domingo and renowned Spanish Ophthalmologist Dr. Elena Barraquer at the Metropolitan Club on Wednesday morning. Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain attended the event and awarded the honorees.

The Sophia Award for Excellence pays tribute to its name (“Sophia” represents the Greek word for wisdom) and is presented to a person or organization that has actively contributed to the international appreciation of Spain and Ibero-America through a donation of time, expertise and an innate wisdom in the areas of sciences, arts or the humanities.

7:31 am

"I'm taking photos of the Queen of Spain today!" I say out loud the moment I wake up because this might be the first and only day in my life it's true. And I keep repeating it all morning on my way to the Metropolitan Club.

11:41 am

I arrive at the Metropolitan Club on the Upper East Side and PR escorts me inside. The entire venue is under the supervision of the 'Guardia Real' - the Spanish Royal Guard. They are a thousand-year-old special force dedicated to protecting the king and his family. And each one of them carries the proudness of a thousand years in their attitude.

"You wait here." one of them says with a deep voice and a Spanish accent. He is very tall, very bulky, dark hair, wearing a gray suit with the Guardia Real pin and I'm pretty sure he is heavily armed. He stares me down. I'm not moving anywhere.

12:01 pm

After security clearance, I walk into the venue and snap a photo of this gorgeous Christmas tree.

12:05 pm

There she is! Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain!

01:07 pm

"Your Majesty, can I please get a smile?"

Back when I was a young girl in Germany, I almost ended up going to the same private boarding school Queen Sofia attended called 'Schloss Salem'. I remember that I didn't like the bunk beds. My pretentious teenage self preferred a boarding school in northern Germany with a real bed. Unfortunately, I ended up having to clean the horse stables there every day for a year without ever getting to ride one of the horses.

01:08 pm

Here you see how to address a queen correctly. This lady is doing it by the book:

Make a small curtsy, then shake her hand if offered, address her as 'Your Majesty' after she addressed you.

Unfortunately, most of the guests in the room get it wrong.

01:09 pm

Fashion designer Carolina Herrera is here!

01:10 pm

Queen Sofia of Spain and Carolina Herrera.

I'm from Europe, and we are obsessed with the Royals, and I spent countless weekends in front of the TV watching 10 hours of live reporting of royal weddings.

The reporters go through the entire family tree of each and every guest giving a history lesson of the last centuries of kings and queens.

What soccer watching is for men in Europe, Royal wedding watching is for everybody else. A total obsession, that goes as far as dressing up in ball gowns to sit in front of the TV with friends, sipping champagne and eating Black Forest cake ('Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte') which consists of multiple layers of chocolate sandwiched with whipped cream and cherries, from tiny porcelain china with the royal emblems of the day.

01:16 pm

On my way out I stop in the entrance to put away my camera. I'm almost ready to go when a man enters the building. I turn around and see the doorman greeting him.

"Good morning, senior Domingo," he says. "How are you today?"

Uh oh, it's Placido Domingo, the famous Spanish opera singer. I put back together with my camera as fast as I can and start shooting. This is one of those moments as a photographer when you need to be quick. My settings are all over the place, and the TV crews already discovered the new guest.

01:17 pm

Hola TV is immediately starting to interview him.

01:18 pm

And I finally get a clean shot of Placido Domingo.

Daniela Kirsch is an entertainment photographer and founder ofNameFace — an event photo agency based in New York City. Through her creative expertise and unique visual style, Kirsch not only knows more than a thing or two about photographing A-list events, but is forever changing the way we interact with the entertainment industry. In June 2018, Kirsch teamed up with Patch to launch the photo series Daniela's Lens, offering weekly features from local events to red carpet magic.

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