• Casa Real Leonor captures all eyes in her reappearance in Chinchón showing her new smile
  • Monarchy Princess Leonor will begin military training in August: "She knows the demand and the sacrifice that entails"

"You have to let it grow as quietly as possible, you'll get tired of seeing it." It has been enough years since Felipe VI referred to his firstborn in this way to get out of step with the demands of journalists for Leonor to make more public appearances. The Kings have fulfilled their commitment that the heiress has been able to serve years away from the spotlight – her presence in institutional life, even having increased since 2020, has been almost testimonial – and that she is about to reach the age of majority without having had the media pressure that did accompany Don Felipe in his adolescence and also to practically all the crown princes of the European Monarchies.

It is difficult to assess the consequences of this decision. What is clear is that Leonor is today unknown to Spanish citizens. But in the biography of the Princess there will be a before and after from this weekend. Graduation from UWC Atlantic College in Wales gives way to his return to Spain and to a life already irremediably conditioned by the Official State Gazette.

It was a Royal Decree, of March, which regulated how the three years of military career to which Leonor will dedicate herself from this summer will be. And from the BOE we also know that he will join his first destination, the Military Academy of Zaragoza, on August 17.

But not only in uniform we will see the Princess of Asturias in the most immediate future. From now on their presence in official acts must be triggered. It is part of his preparation and also something essential to make himself known, begin to gain ground and exercise his responsibilities on behalf of a Crown so jibarizada.

Leonor with her parents in Santa María de los RosalesCasa Real

On Thursday we will see Leonor, already in Spain, in an act of family character, as is the confirmation of her sister, the Infanta Sofia. Much more relevant would be that he starred in his first act of depth in the international sphere attending on June 1 the royal wedding of the year, that of the crown prince of Jordan, Hussein bin Al Abdullah. Relations between the Spanish Royal Family and the Hashemite have always been very close. And it would make perfect sense for Eleanor to begin in Haman at last to interact with the rest of the dynasties, after having missed appointments such as the funeral for King Constantine II of the Hellenes. In any case, the attendance at the royal wedding of Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía advanced exclusively by ¡Hola! generates doubts about what more members of our Royal Family will travel.

Also as far as the international scene is concerned, Leonor's first official trip abroad is eagerly awaited. His father did it when he was 15 years old, when he represented Spain in Colombia on the occasion of the 450th anniversary of the founding of Cartagena de Indias. Surely in Zarzuela they are already working on the design of a mission for the heiress that will have a great symbolic character.

Although in the coming months there is nothing more important for the firstborn of the Kings than her oath before the Courts when she turns 18. At this point, the Government's plans remain unknown. The transcendental act will be marked by the call for general elections and it is not known if it will take place on the same day of the birthday, October 31, or if it will be postponed to 2024, already constituted the new Courts.

AN INTERVIEW

What does seem almost essential is that Leonor takes advantage of her 18th anniversary to give her first interview. The hitherto invisible Princess is an heiress in the era of mass communication. And it would be incomprehensible if he did not follow a tradition that we have seen in practically all the monarchies of our environment – in his day Prince William of England, Victoria of Sweden or, more recently, Amalia of the Netherlands or Ingrid of Norway gave interviews that served for citizens to know their respective heirs better.

Don Felipe's times were different and he did not have to face a meeting of these characteristics before the cameras, which today would be misunderstood to be hidden. And yet, Prince Philip also gave his first interview, for a newspaper, to Luis María Anson, while he began his military training. Then he went at the initiative of King Juan Carlos, worried about the harassment that his son already suffered from the magazines of the heart, trying to convey an image of seriousness. The latter also serves to emphasize that, inevitably, from now on Leonor will not be able to avoid that they begin to attribute sentimental relationships to her, we will see how often and if with or without foundation.

  • Royal House
  • Princess Eleanor
  • Philip VI
  • Queen Letizia

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