The port of Cádiz welcomed a seemingly classic event this Saturday, January 11. Seeing a ship leave this city is not surprising, especially when it is a boat used by the Naval Academy. However, that day, near the port, were King Felipe VI and his queen, Letizia of Spain.
The reason for their presence? Their daughter Leonor was one of the students boarding that day. The heir to the Iberian throneaged 19, is following a military course. So she boarded the training boat Juan Sebastian de Elcano for a voyage on the high seas lasting six months. The journey promises to be long, but also thrilling: the ship will cross the Atlantic to reach Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, before ending in New York. The return to Europe is planned for July.
A united royal family
This departure of the princess moved her motherQueen Letizia, to tears. The latter hugged her daughter before giving her a last kiss for six months. As for his father, he simply held his wife by the waist, as a sign of support, before immortalizing the moment with his cell phone.
This moment of goodbye testifies of the unity of the royal family, despite some periods of unrest. Married since 2004, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia form a glamorous couple. They had two daughters: Leonor, born in 2005, and Sofia, two years younger. The latter has already left the family cocoon to study in Wales, where she is preparing for an international baccalaureate. So she wasn’t able to say goodbye to her sister before boarding.
Leonor, future queen of Spain
Leonor had followed a similar journey to that of her sister, studying at the same college in Wales between 2021 and 2023. Subsequently, she chose to begin military training, like her father. She thus joined the General Military Academy, the Naval Military School and the General Air Academy. All of this aims to prepare the infanta for her role as future queen of Spain.
Indeed, in the absence of a male heir, Leonor is called to succeed her father. When King Felipe VI leaves the throne — whether by abdication, like his father Juan Carlos, or because of his death — she will become queen. This will mark a historic turning point: for the first time since 1868 and the end of the reign of Isabel II, Spain would be led by a woman. Since the abdication of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, no monarchy has a reigning queen.
