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Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias (born 31 October 2005) is the heir to the Spanish Crown. She is the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia [1]. This page uses the biography published by the Royal Household of Spain (Casa de S.M. el Rey), the Spanish State Gazette (BOE) and the record of the Cortes Generales.
Heir to the Crown
The Royal Household states that Leonor has been heir to the Crown since her father was proclaimed King on 19 June 2014 [1]. Under Article 57.2 of the Constitution she has held since then the dignity of Princess of Asturias, together with the titles of Princess of Girona and Princess of Viana, which belong to the eldest children of the Kingdom of Castile, the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre, whose union formed the Spanish monarchy in the sixteenth century [1]. She also holds the titles of Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cervera and Lady of Balaguer [1].
The rules of succession to the Spanish throne are explained in GOTHA's guide to the Spanish line of succession.
Order of the Golden Fleece
By Royal Decree 978/2015 of 30 October, published in the BOE on 31 October 2015, the King conferred on her the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece [3].
Education
The Royal Household reported in March 2023 that the Princess would complete her International Baccalaureate studies at the end of May that year at UWC Atlantic College in Wales [2]. Its website also records the start of her university year at Carlos III University [1].
Military training
On 14 March 2023 the Royal Household announced that the Princess would combine military training with university studies [2]. Royal Decree 173/2023 of 14 March set out her military training: three successive academic years at the General Military Academy, the Naval Military School and the General Air Academy [5]. According to the Royal Household's statement [2]:
- 2023–2024: General Military Academy, Zaragoza, as a Lady Cadet (Dama Cadete);
- 2024–2025: the Navy, as a Midshipman (Guardiamarina), at the Naval Military School in Marín and aboard the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano;
- 2025–2026: General Air Academy, San Javier, as a cadet ensign (Alférez Alumna).
According to the statement's own timetable, the third year ran to 2026. The statement explains that it is a widely shared tradition in European parliamentary monarchies for future heads of state to receive military training, as the King did, and that she is called to hold the supreme command of the Armed Forces in due course [2].
The oath of 2023
On 31 October 2023, the day she came of age, the Princess swore an oath before a joint session of the Cortes Generales, convened under Article 74.1 of the Constitution. With her right hand on the Constitution she said [4]:
"I swear to faithfully carry out my duties, to keep and to enforce the Constitution and the laws, to respect the rights of citizens and of the autonomous communities, and loyalty to the King."
The President of the Congress recalled that thirty-seven years earlier her father had taken the same oath [4].
Public role
The Royal Household's pages show the Princess presenting the Princess of Asturias Awards, carrying out her first solo engagement at the 30th anniversary of the Instituto Cervantes, and attending public events with the King and Queen [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.