Princess Leonor of Spain will begin military training in August

Princess Leonor will begin three years of military training in August after she finishes school as she prepares to one day become a commander-in-chief of the Spanish armed forces, it has been confirmed.

The 17-year-old heir to the Spanish throne, who is currently studying the International Baccalaureate at UWC Atlantic in Wales, will begin her training in August, the Spanish government has announced, praising her future role as the nation encourages more women into the armed forces.

Whereas many of her peers will go off to university, the eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia will return to Spain to begin training.

Tatler reported that Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles confirmed Princess Leonor of Asturias’s next move earlier this week.

The training will include stints in the armed forces, the Spanish navy and the air force.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Ms Robles confirmed: ‘In due course, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces will be a woman, and in recent years we have been making a very important effort to incorporate women into the armed forces.’

The Princess will begin her training at Army Military Academy in Zaragoza before going to naval school, and will complete her three years at the General Air Academy.

In September last year the Spanish palace announced that Princess Leonor will go to university to study law once her three years of military training have been completed.

While Leonor’s choice of university is unknown, the Princess’s academic background already bears a resemblance to that of her father King Felipe.

Princess Leonor, 17, has been studying for the IB at UWC Atlantic College in Wales, which has been dubbed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ as it is known for its progressive approach to education

After graduating from high school at Lakefield College in Canada, Felipe returned to Spain and attended the General Military Academy of Zaragozo, and went on to study at the Naval Military School in Marín.

He ended his training with a stint at the General Air Academy in San Javier.

His also completed his military training with a stint on the shop Juan Sebastián Elcano aged 18 in 1987, and went on to study law at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

Currently, Leonor, who is understood to speak four languages including Mandarin, juggles her life as a young princess with her work as a student at the Welsh boarding school, dubbed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ thanks to its progressive approach to education and picturesque castle setting.

During the school holidays, Leonor returns home to Spain where she carries out royal duties. She has carried out a number of solo engagements, as well as ones undertaken alongside her parents and beloved sister.

The talented teenager, who has inherited her mother’s polished sense of style, is also understood to be an accomplished cellist, and has honed her skills in tennis, sailing and gymnastics at an American summer camp.

Leonor was born during the reign of her grandfather, the now-disgraced King Juan Carlos who left Spain in August 2020 after becoming the target of several probes in Spain and abroad over alleged tax avoidance and questionable dealings in the Middle East.

The scandals have tarnished the reputation of the royal family and Felipe, 54, is working hard to distance himself from his father and restore faith in the monarchy.

Some believe the next generation of royals hold the key. One national newspaper compared Leonor to a ‘Disney Princess’ who would charm subjects and stem the tide of anti-monarchist sentiment.