Spain's Princess Letizia enters to hospital for observation after contractions

Princess Letizia, the pregnant wife of Crown Prince Felipe, heir to the Spanish throne, was taken to a hospital for observation after early contractions, the palace said Tuesday. Letizia, who is eight months pregnant with the couple's first child, later left the Ruber hospital in central Madrid with the prince to go home.

"The princess went to the hospital for a medical checkup after midnight and left about three hours later," a spokesman for the palace told The Associated Press.

Letizia, a former TV news anchorwoman who is now expected to become the next Queen of Spain, married Crown Prince Felipe in May 22 last year at Madrid's Almudena cathedral. She is due to give birth at the Ruber hospital in November.

"Everything's perfect," the prince said to waiting reporters and photographers, reports the AP. I.L.