On January 6, 1986, three months after entering the Military Academy of Zaragoza and three weeks after reaching the age of majority and taking part in the swearing-in ceremony of the Constitution, the then Prince Felipe attended the celebration of the Constitution for the first time. Military Easter. This Saturday, 38 years later, her daughter, Princess Leonor, who has already turned 18, has followed in her footsteps and made her debut at the celebration that, presided over by the Kings, took place at the Royal Palace that brings together to the leadership of the three Armies and the Civil Guard. The King, in his speech, highlighted the pride that, together with the Queen, he feels for the incorporation of the heiress into the military family, while the Minister of Defense congratulated the Kings for the work and attitude of Leonor in the Zaragoza Military Academy.
This Saturday is the second time that the Princess of Asturias has worn the full military uniform of a lady cadet at an event at the Royal Palace. She did it for the first time on October 12, which was also her premiere at the reception offered by the Kings after the military parade on Paseo de la Castellana. Leonor de Borbón entered the General Military Academy of Zaragoza (AGM) on August 17 and was sworn in on October 7 in an act presided over by the Kings.
Leonor has worn, hanging around her neck, the scallop of the insignia of the Golden Fleece, which her father awarded her on the occasion of her 10th birthday, and on her uniform the band and the decoration of the Order of Charles III, which she received from the hands of the King at the event held at the Royal Palace on his 18th birthday. The princess has gathered her hair in her mandatory bun and has covered herself with the grancé beret.
On this occasion, the tenth since his proclamation, the King wore the gala uniform of an admiral of the Navy at the Military Easter. Queen Letizia, following the ceremony protocol, wore a ceremonial dress consisting of a long black skirt and a pearl gray silk blouse.
The heir to the Crown has been increasing her prominence in official events coinciding with her entry into the AGM and after swearing, on October 31, the Constitution in Congress, where she returned on November 29 to attend the opening ceremony of the XV legislature. This Monday, after the Christmas holidays, Leonor will return to the Academy classes.
The Kings and the Princess of Asturias, who arrived in different cars, were received in the Plaza de la Almudena square by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. Next, in the Plaza de la Armería they were greeted by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Chief of the Defense Staff (Jemad), Teodoro Esteban López Calderón and the Chief of the Military Quarter of the King’s House, Emilio J. Gracia Cirugeda
The ceremony began with the ceremonial honors that included the complete national anthem and a twenty-one-gun salute, and the subsequent review of the troops by the King accompanied by the Jemad, the head of the Military Quarter and the chief colonel of the Guard. Real, in charge of the formation.
Once the review was over, the Kings and the Princess went inside the Royal Palace for the greeting to the commanders and members of the Armed Forces that took place in the Gasparini Saleta. The main ceremony, with the imposition of decorations on 20 military personnel outstanding in their missions throughout 2023, and the speeches of Minister Margarita Robles and the King, is held in the Throne Room, where this year, it is different from previous ones. , the attendees have been seated.
The Minister of Defense began her speech by recalling the relevance of the two ceremonies that the Princess of Asturias recently participated in: the swearing in of the flag and the swearing in of the Constitution, and she stressed that “both milestones symbolize the strong bond of the Crown, with the Armed Forces and our Constitution. At the end of her speech, she once again referred to Princess Leonor, addressing the Kings: “Allow me,” the minister said, “to tell you and the Queen that, as parents, you can feel satisfied with the work that the Princess of Asturias is being carried out at the Military Academy of Zaragoza, as teachers and colleagues transmit to us.”
The head of Defense for the role of Queen Letizia also had words, thanking “most especially Her Majesty the Queen for her daily dedication and willingness to serve.”
The King has not forgotten the transcendent stage that Princess Leonor has just begun. In front of the military leadership, the President of the Government and the Ministers of Defense and the Interior said “I would not like to end without sharing with you the enormous pride that both the Queen and I have felt since the Princess had the honor of swearing in the flag last month of October at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza, and thus become part of the great military family.”
“We know that, in addition to the great demands it entails,” the King continued in reference to his daughter, “she has had an excellent reception; and we sincerely thank you very much. We are aware that the camaraderie, nobility and loyalty that find among you is the best incentive you can have in this first year of military, humanistic and technical training, which will be followed by two more years of intense preparation at the Naval Military School of Marín (Pontevedra) and the General Air Academy of San Javier (Murcia).”
