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Felipe VI (born 30 January 1968 in Madrid) has been King of Spain since June 2014, when he succeeded his father, King Juan Carlos I, after the latter's abdication [1][2]. He belongs to the Spanish branch of the House of Bourbon. This page uses only the information published by the Royal Household of Spain and the Boletín Oficial del Estado.
Heir to the throne
The Royal Household records that he received the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1981 and that, on reaching his majority on 30 January 1986, he swore allegiance to the Constitution and to the King before the Cortes Generales [1].
Education and military training
Between 1985 and 1989 he trained at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, the Naval Military School in Marín and the General Air Academy in San Javier [1]. He then took a law degree at the Autonomous University of Madrid and a Master of Science in Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, completed in 1995 [1]. A keen sailor, he was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the Barcelona 1992 Games, where he was the team's flag-bearer [1].
Marriage
He married Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano on 22 May 2004 in the Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena in Madrid [1]. They have two daughters: Leonor, born on 31 October 2005, and Sofía, born on 29 April 2007 [1].
Accession
On 2 June 2014 King Juan Carlos I informed the President of the Government in writing of his decision to abdicate [2]. The Cortes Generales gave effect to the abdication by Organic Law 3/2014 of 18 June 2014 [2], and Felipe VI was proclaimed King before the Cortes Generales on 19 June 2014 [1].
Licence: this article is original GOTHA text, released under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Its sources are summarised or briefly quoted.