She might currently be studying at a school so relaxed it’s called ‘Hippie Hogwarts,’ but Leonor of Spain will soon have to contend with much stricter rules, it has been revealed.
The Spanish heir to the throne, 16, who is starting her second year at the UWC Atlantic College at St Donat’s Castle in Wales, is set to train with all three branches of Spain’s military from September 2023.
Leonor, the daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, will follow in her father’s footsteps and will train with the army, the navy and the Spanish air force before moving on to the rest of her university studies.
The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that Leonor’s military training would culminate with a stint on board the Juan Sebastián de Elcano, a training ship used by the Spanish Navy.
The Spanish heir to the throne, 16, who is starting her second year at the UWC Atlantic College at St Donat’s Castle in Wales, pictured, is set to attend all three of Spain’s military schools from September 2023
Leonor, the daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, will follow into her father’s footstep and will train with the army, the navy and the Spanish air force before moving on to the rest of her university studies. Pictured, the Spanish king with Leonor (left), wife Letizia and daughter Sofia (right) during the Spanish National Day parade in October 2019
It was also revealed that the young Princess would go on to study law at university once her training with the military is complete.
Her choice of university has not been revealed yet, however, her educational trajectory is extremely similar to her father’s, King Felipe VI.
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.
Leonor has been taking on more royal responsibilities in recent years. Here she is in 2021 giving a speech for the Princess of Asturias award ceremony
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.
Future queen: Princess Leonor of Spain, 16, right, was the picture of poise as she joined her parents King Felipe and Queen Letizia, and sister Princess Sofia, 15, pictured left, at an awards ceremony in Barcelona in July
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.
King Felipe of Spain ascended the throne in 2014 following his father’s abdication and Leonor, then just nine years old, became heir presumptive to the throne.
By her side: In October 2018, Felipe was the picture of fatherly pride as he watched his daughter deliver her first public address at an event in Madrid, pictured
Public profile: Princess Leonor, King Felipe, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia at a ceremony at the Royal Palace in Spain in June 2019
However according to the Spanish constitution Leonor could still lose her place in the order of succession if her father King Felipe was to father a son.
There have been discussions about changing the law, which is based on the practice of male primogeniture, a system that favours any male heir over a first-born daughter, but legislation has yet to be passed.
Leonor was still in primary school when she began carrying out royal engagements and made her first speech in 2018, aged 13. It marked a full-circle moment for her proud father Felipe, who was the same age when he made his first public address.
The following year she spoke four languages – Spanish, Catalan, English and Arabic – when she made a speech at the Princess of Girona Foundation awards in Barcelona.
Style queen: Queen Letizia is widely considered to be one of the world’s most stylish royals, so it is perhaps of little surprise her daughters are already following in her fashion footsteps
She carried out her first solo royal engagement in March last year.
The princess, who learned English from a British nanny, attended Santa María de los Rosales School, the same school as her father, before announcing her decision to finish her education at UWC Atlantic College.
In 2021, Leonor and Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, 17, the second eldest child of the Dutch King and Queen, both enrolled on a £67,000, two-year course to study for their International Baccalaureate diploma.
The school offers activities and subjects like Tai Chi and Tibetan literature, leading it to be nicknamed ‘Hippie Hogwarts’.
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