I’m at the age where every teenager looks like a baby to me. People are like “oh, that 19-year-old is attractive” or “that 16-year-old is driving a car” and I look at those teens and I’m like “why are you talking that way about a literal baby?” So it is with Princess Leonor, the Crown Princess of Spain. Princess Leonor is 17 years old and she looks, to me, like she’s maybe 12 years old at most. In March, the Spanish royals announced that Princess Leonor would begin her mandatory three-year military training rather than go to university right away. King Felipe and Queen Letizia dropped off their eldest daughter late last week, and these are some of the palace-arranged photos of Leonor’s first day at boot camp (??).
It was an emotional farewell for the Spanish royal family as Princess Leonor, the heir presumptive, said goodbye to her parents and sister on Thursday to begin her three years of military training.
King Felipe VI donned military uniform as he joined his wife Queen Letizia and youngest daughter Infanta Sofia to drop off Leonor at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza, in northeastern Spain. Speaking to reporters, Princess Leonor, who turns 18 in October, said she is facing the new chapter ‘with enthusiasm’ but admitted to also feeling ‘a little nervous’.
Queen Letizia, who will cheer on Spain in the Women’s World Cup final against England’s Lionesses on Sunday, looked emotional as she hugged her daughter goodbye on Thursday. Proud father King Felipe placed a protective hand on his daughter’s shoulder as she wheeled her suitcase to the entrance of the academy.
By attending Zaragoza – Spain’s equivalent of Sandhurst – Princess Leonor is following in the footsteps of King Felipe and her grandfather, the former King Juan Carlos. She will spend a year at the military academy, then go to a naval school where she will sail the Juan Sebastian de Elcano, a four masted schooner used by the Spanish navy for training, and finish her studies at the General Air Academy. As the heir presumptive, Leonor is expected to one day be commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
I’m ready to cry and I’m not even related to any of these people. Letizia must be going through it, sending her baby off to three years of military training. How did Letizia even manage to fly out to Australia after this?? She would have been well within her rights to sit in her closet and drink the whole weekend.
In case you’re wondering, she’s using the surname Borbón Ortiz on her uniform. Borbón because that’s the royal house of the Spanish royal family (like House of Windsor) and Ortiz because that is her mother’s maiden name.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: Princess Leonor BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: Princess Leonor BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, Princess Sofia BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, Princess Sofia BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess Leonor, Princess Sofia BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: Princess Leonor BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Zaragoza, SPAIN – Crown Princess Leonor begins her militar training in the army Academy of Zaragoza, that will be followed by navy and Air Force training. Leonor de Borbon and Ortiz, Princess of Asturias and Girona and Crown Princess of Spain arrived in the Academy accompanied by the Royal Family, King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia. After the official Welcome she said goodbye to her family to meet her mates and begin her training. Pictured: Princess Leonor BACKGRID USA 20 AUGUST 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
oh, these photos look like stills from a very good military drama that I would love to watch!
And yes – poor Letizia, and I feel sorry for Leonor too. Sure she has the privilege, but three years of military training is no small thing, especially at that age. All the best to her.
I wonder if she exchanged notes with Salma, Princess of Jordan, who also had military training. I hope so. (OT I loved that Rania and Hashem recently visited the Spanish royal family. )
Why do you feel sorry for Leonor? This looks equal to ROTC in the US, and she’ll be able to lead one day from a place of knowledge. I mean, she’s not being sent into active combat ffs.
Just because it’s something a lot of people do, doesn’t mean it can’t be nerv wrecking for a 17 y.o. to join the military. There’s been talk about sexual harassment in the armed forces in some countries in Europe the previous year. I know both the Nederlands and Norway have appointed high ranking officers to work especially on the subject because it’s been revealed it’s a big problem. She might not be subjected to that as the heir presumptiv, but there might be some jackasses going after her especially because of who she is.
IIRC Leonor has already lived quite a while away from the family. I think she went to school in Wales like her sister is about to, so Letizia is used to not having her around every day.
You are right, that was poorly written. I was under the influence of the great time Letizia and Sofia had in Australia. I thought of Sofia and Leonor holding hands at Sofia’s confirmation in May this year, how close they are and now separated. For some reason I thought, “Ouch, such a young girl, instead of being free, out in the sun, or with her family, she has to join the military,” but there’s really no need to feel sorry for her.
Leonor chose this academy, whether out of interest or duty, good luck to her.
Girls are simply growing up. *sigh*
Why do you feel sorry for Leonor? Yes it might be “gruelling” but its not like she will ever be sent to the front lines (she’s the literal heir). She did this of her own volition with her family’s blessing and she will go on to have a privileged pampered life afterward.
Also why do people create fan fiction with royals?? “I wonder if she exchanged notes with Princess Salma”… No, just no. Grown people need to stop creating fan fiction over celebs/royals/people in real life.
“Grown people need to stop creating fan fiction over celebs/royals/people in real life.” Excuse me, but do you know where you are? 😀
“She would have been well within her rights to sit in her closet and drink the whole weekend.” Letizia has a new fan in me, the anti-monarchist. If Letizia keeps being Letizia, we’ll never get rid of monarchies. She’ll make them popular again.
I hope she sat in her closet and drank for a few days after she got back from Australia.
Q Letizia is about to have an empty nest, her younger daughter (Infanta Sophia) is going to Wales any day now to finish out her primary schooling
A few things I don’t understand—and I’m hoping someone here can explain it to me! Is the military training required because she’s the heir, or is it more of a nationwide mandate? Is this military training, or is it military service, or is it some combination thereof? It sounds to me like a lot of officer training but not really active duty service, but I could be way wrong. It sounds like a monumental commitment, no matter what the details are, but I’m confused about the particulars.
It’s training. And it’s a tradition within the Bourbon RF going back 2 generations. I don’t know if it is a mandate or not.
There is no compulsory military service in Spain. This is part of her training to be queen.
Thank you, Scout and Megan!
She’s following on her father steps, who did same thing when he was young. Apparently it was her choice, and I guess ppl expected she passed on it for being a girl who’s alsoseemingly very attached to her family
They seem like such great kids. I love that Leonor has hyphenated her name. Shows the strength of her mother’s personality coming through.
That’s the cultural norm in Spain. It’s not hyphenating per se.
Exactly Felipe’s surname is Bourbon y Grecia as his mother was a Greek princess. Juan Carlos was Bourbon y Bourbon-Dos Sicilies as his mother was princess Mercedes of Bourbon Two Sicilies. His father, Juan, was Bourbon y Battenberg as his mother was Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg. And so on.
BQM:
Queen Sofia was a Greek Princess? ….
… OK, so after a wiki dive, I didn’t realize how connected Sofia is to the Windsors. Her father was first cousins with Prince Philip of the UK. Her mother was the only daughter of Kaiser Wilhelm II, thus a great granddaughter of Victoria. And both her parents were descendants of Christian IX of Denmark (the Father in Law of Europe.)
An odd story of Sofia’s mother, Frederica of Hanover (who was both a Princess of Hanover and a Princess of Great Britain and Ireland): Hitler tried to get her parents to marry her off to the Prince of Wales in 1934 (the future abdicating Edward VIII), but apparently her entire family went, EEEK! NO! He’s 23 years older than her!
Yes, like other commenters say it’s not hyphenating. Spaniards usually have two surnames, the norm was that the first one came from the father and the second one from the mother. Nowadays the order can be different as long as all children of the same parents have the same order, and of course when the parents are of the same sex they can choose the order as well.
It has been commented on that she’s using both in her uniform though, because usually only the first one is used unless more than one person in the class shares that first one. Supposedly you can also ask for both to be put there, which is what is assumed has happened here. The anti-Letizia people (most Spanish old school monarchists) are shouting again about how she has forced this and her husband has been humiliated again. They do this a lot.
In Spain you full name has both surnames. They are not hyphenated, everybody has two last names.
I’m not even a mom & my first thought on this story was “omg did she fly to Australia right after?! HOW?!” I bet she & Sofia (other daughter) had a good time & this was a way as a family to cope. Poor dad at home crying alone! He absolutely seems like a dad who would cry for his girls. Gosh I love that family!
Yes, Felipe would cry for his girls. When Leonor was a young girl she had been playing with some other kids on vacation outside and something happened that upset her and she went and sat at a table with her parents. This was of course all caught by the intrusive Spanish paparazzi.
Leonor had been crying about something and telling her parents all about it and Letizia had a look of concern and was talking to her but Felipe just was sitting stiffly, looking at his daughter who was upset and he looked like he was trying very hard not to cry – as if he was afraid to say one word for fear of the dam bursting. I remember thinking that he must be a great, empathetic, girl-dad.
Thank God Letizia doesn’t have silly millitary titles. She doesn’t have to make a fool of herself. Enter the UK royals, looking foolish with chocolate medals on their Halloween costumes.
To my knowledge, the other European royal houses don’t do unearned military orders and titles for the spouses and other members of the family anymore. In this day and ages, the politicians and the public won’t except that either. Unlike the UK govt and population.
The Brits really have a laughable monarchy and class system. They really need to get rid if those relics.
Every article in English I’ve read about this mentions how emotional Letizia was and I’m not sure if it’s just dramatisation or just cultural differences because she looked normal to me. Leonor will be out most weekends, and it’s not as it will be hard for her parents to go see her or for her to travel to Madrid to visit. Not saying that sending your kid to a military academy is a walk in the park, but it’s not that dramatic imo.
I feel sorry for her, she’s been brainwashed and she probably doesn’t even think she can do anything else. At the same time, if we’re going to have a Monarchy the future Queen/King should be forced to do things like this.
Thank God Letizia doesn’t have silly millitary titles. She doesn’t have to make a fool of herself. Enter the UK royals, looking foolish with chocolate medals on their Halloween costumes.
To my knowledge, the other European royal houses don’t do unearned military orders and titles for the spouses and other members of the family anymore. In this day and ages, the politicians and the public won’t except that either. Unlike the UK govt and population. The Brits really have a laughable monarchy.
As a mom that must’ve been hard for Letizia. Great PR week for that family though, huh? I think it’s a bit ridiculous we’re all forgetting the less than savory things about the Spanish monarchy just because Letizia is making her English-speaking peers look even more ridiculous than they normally do.
I believe Borbon Ortiz is her real surname. It’s not like with British Royals that don’t technically have surnames, the Spanish Royals do, and they always do include the mothers side. I think Filip’s real surname is Borbon Grecia, since his mother was a princess of Greece.
Never thought I’d identify with any of these people (as much as I adore them) but the feelings they must be going through 🥺 we just dropped our kid off at college this past weekend and am I an empty mess….
3 years of military training/service – 3 FULL years. And workshy Will can’t be bothered to attend a football match. Really highlights the differences.
Prince William had 8 years of military training, not counting the 3 years he served as a search and rescue pilot.
William never trained full time, nor did he ever work full time in any of those branches. They were all about to throw him out, then he’d skip over to the next one. Never qualified as a pilot, he only qualified as a co pilot after extensive retraining because he’d skipped through so much through claiming ‘privilege’.
His eyesight alone should disqualify him from flying, but because he transferred over from another branch, is royal, and pitched a fit, he was allowed into flight training at all.
At SAR he nearly lost his co-pilot wings because he rarely showed up for shifts. He had two years left on that contract and could have served it out. Trouble is? The private US company that had bought out SAR was evaluating everyone at SAR before they took over in two years. William was never doing to pass, they weren’t going to let him pull any excuses, so he left.
When he went to ‘work’ at EAAA? He had to do 18 months of retraining – simply to qualify as a co-pilot. Then his co-workers went on record saying he worked less than 10 hours a month, while he was claiming he worked too much at EAAA to be allowed to do more royal work. Right after that expose, a William insider was made the head of EAAA so everyone was required to shut up about his laziness.
William’s ‘military service’ is smoke and mirrors.
A quick question about Spanish last names. I realize that everyone has two non hyphenated names – one of the few things I remember from Spanish class. But do you get to choose which of the two names to give your child?
I think you give the first name to your child, which is your father’s name. I think. Letizia’s full name was Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, and Leonor is using Borbon Ortiz, so the first name is her father’s and the second her mother’s, and if that holds up that the name Ortiz is from Letizia’s father. I think? I’m not sure if there’s a choice. Is anyone here Spanish and can confirm or correct this?
In Spanish speaking countries, traditionally the first surname is from the father’s father. The second surname would be the mother’s father first surname.
I hope that doesn’t make it more confusing.
First paternal surname, second, maternal one. Usually. Sometimes families can agree to either use three last names, using the full combined last names of either parent. It is unusual, but still happens. Four is not heard of often. Four last names are things from the past, same as having three or more first/ middle names which are different from surnames.
I’ve seen people with only one last name (maternal), or maybe both last mayernal names, as if the child were her mother’s sibling.
Sometimes families can decide to change the order of the surnames, maternal first, but it is unisual, and done to not lose some maternal lineage. Also, in my country you can change your name or surname, it is inexpensive to do so, what is expensive is to go around changing all the official documents, your diplomas job licenses, driving license, passport, etc. I know a transgender lady with a doctorate (university professor) who just officially goes by her birth name, although everyone knows who she is now.
I’m from Spain, the cultural norm is for women to keep their surname throughout their life which is their father’s first last name and mother’s first last name. Leonor is Borbon Ortiz, first is her father’s last name Borbon and then mother’s name Ortiz. No choosing and no changes upon marriage. In daily life people will only use their father’s last name but both are used in official documents. Leonor is the future queen who is the head of the armed forces so it’s normal for her to train with them as a matter of national security.