Leonor of Spain blows out sixteen candles. An important birthday for the eldest daughter of Felipe VI and Letizia Ortiz: the future queen – full name Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz – is no longer a child. This was clearly seen last week when, returning to Spain from Wales, where she is studying, she attended the events related to the Princess of Asturias award, the Spanish equivalent of the Nobel Prize. And it has catalized all the attention on himself. Without hesitation, perfectly at ease, Leonor appeared increasingly projected into the role of sovereign that one day she will be called upon to fill.
The Princesa de Asturias award was the occasion for the first return home since, on August 30, he began attending UWC Atlantic College, in the Glamorgan Valley, Wales. A prestigious institute where the leaders of tomorrow are trained and where he found another royal, the same age Alexia d’Olanda, second daughter of the rulers of the Netherlands Willem Alexander and Máxima.
The separation from her parents seems to have accelerated the maturation of this blonde, blue-eyed girl, as beautiful as her mother Letizia and always smiling like her grandmother Sofia. Those who have known her describe her strong and decisive. A little woman who has always shown great maturity. When she was enrolled in the private college Nuestra Señora de los Rosales, a few kilometers from the Zarzuela palace, she was always a model student. Today he speaks English, Catalan, Euskera, Galician and Chinese.
Over time, the princess has added the cello lessons, classical dance, horse riding. And also sailing, his great passion (since childhood), inherited from father Felipe and grandfather Juan Carlos.
Leonor soon understood that destiny as a queen imposes obligations and prohibitions. In 2016, for example, when he was only 11, he gave up a month’s vacation in the summer residence of the royal family, in Mallorca, to learn, under the guidance of a teacher, the first rudiments of her future role as queen. And since one day he will also be head of the armed forces, sooner or later he will also have to receive a military education.
Today, at the age of 16, Leonor amazes with the ease with which she attends to royal obligations. But already on his day thirteenth birthday he had enchanted everyone by pronouncing her first words during an official ceremony. It was 2018, and on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution, the princess of Asturias had read article 1 according to which “sovereignty belongs to the people” and Spain is a “parliamentary monarchy” while father Felipe VI, at his side , he looked at her full of pride. Then, in January 2018, her father had awarded her the Golden Fleece, the highest honor granted by the Bourbon monarchy. While in October 2019 Leonor had participated for the first time in the Princess of Asturias Award.
A gradual exposure in the spotlight but always together with the sovereign parents. On the other hand, there was neither the father nor the mother, last July, when Leonor together with her younger sister Sofia, 14, she participated in the One Tree for Europe Program, a project that aims to plant new plants against deforestation. A first public date without parents which represented a small step in the path that will lead the sixteen-year-old Leonor to ascend the throne. A role for which the little princess – angel face and steely character – seems always ready. He was only 9 when he asked King Felipe a question that has become legendary at court: “Dad, when will I be able to make a speech like yours?”
.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
