Queen Letizia of Spain recycled a floral dress first worn by her mother-in-law Queen Sofia 40 years ago

• Queen Letizia borrowed a dress from Queen Sofia and made it her own.
• Letizia's mother-in-law first wore the dress in Rome in 1981.
• Letizia updated the dress by adding silver gems to the floral decorations and a silver belt.

Spain's Queen Letizia borrowed a floral dress from her mother-in-law for a recent royal engagement.

The 48-year-old royal wore the outfit - first worn by Queen Sofia during a visit to Rome in 1981 - at the Royal Palace of Madrid on Tuesday, according to Mail Online and People.

Letizia and her husband, King Felipe VI, were there to welcome the Chilean President Sebastián Piñera to Madrid.

Mail Online reports that Letizia updated Sofia's dress by adding a silver belt.

Sofia is the consort to King Juan Carlos of Spain, who was monarch from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. The king said in a televised address that it was time for a "new era" in which a new generation could transform the throne, the BBC reported at the time.

Felipe succeeded the throne after his resignation, and Letizia became queen consort.

There has been speculation surrounding Letizia and Sofia's relationship after a viral video appeared to show the women arguing after a church service in April 2018. As Sofia posed for a photo with her granddaughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, Letizia blocked the camera and the two appeared to have a heated discussion, Cheat Sheet reported at the time.

Letizia's former coworker Imma Aguilar told Spanish program "El círculo" that she displayed a "motherly reaction" to her daughters being photographed by strangers, according to the Mail Online.