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200px, The Coat of Arms of the Princes of Girona The Prince or Princess of Girona ( ca, Príncep o Princesa de Girona) is a title that was historically accorded to the
heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
or
heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...
to the
Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
. Current legislation mandates the title of
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
to the heir of the Spanish throne but allows for the use of other traditional titles; the current title-holder, therefore, is Leonor, Princess of Girona.


Origin of the title

It originated in 1351 when King
Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...
named his successor, to whom he conceded the title of Duke of
Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...
; the title embraced territories of the counties of Girona,
Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...
,
Empúries Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tr ...
and
Ausona The County of Osona, also Ausona ( ca, Comtat d'Osona, ; la, Comitatus Ausonae), was one of the Catalan counties of the ''Marca Hispanica'' in the Early and High Middle Ages. It was based around the capital city of Vic (''Vicus'') and the correspo ...
. In part I of the ''Constitucions i Altres Drets de Cathalunya'', the section headed ''Genealogia dels Reys d'Aragó i Comtes de Barcelona'' speaks of the genealogy of
John I of Aragon John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death. Biography John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...
, son of Peter IV, saying that John and Violant had a son named James, "lo qual intitularen Delphi
auphin Shatranj ( ar, شطرنج; fa, شترنج; from Middle Persian ''chatrang'' ) is an old form of chess, as played in the Sasanian Empire. Its origins are in the Indian game of chaturaṅga. Modern chess gradually developed from this game, as ...
de Girona". On 19 February 1416, Ferdinand I of Aragon, considering the title of duke insufficient, raised it to the rank of Principality of Girona. However, these titles fell into gradual disuse until the 20th century as the heir of the King of Spain became better known by the hereditary title of the
Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...
, "
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
."


Modern usage

In 1961, when announcing the wedding the future
Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 Novem ...
and
Sofia of Greece Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and has ...
, the Spanish Royal House issued the young prince, as titles of pretense, the style of "Prince of Asturias," "Prince of Girona," and "
Prince of Viana The Prince or Princess of Viana ( es, Príncipe de Viana, eu, Vianako Printzea) is one of the titles of the heir of the Crown of Spain. Other associated titles originate from the rest of the kingdoms that formed Spain: Prince of Asturias, Pri ...
" — these three titles referring to his status as
heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to the kingdoms of Castile,
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
and
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
respectively. He started using the titles of "Prince of Girona" on his passport during the rule of
caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...
Franco, to avoid the more contentious title
Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...
which was well known to be reserved for the heir of the throne of Spain. His father had adopted a similar tactic, styling himself Juan, Count of Barcelona; using the title of
King of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
would have been seen as directly subversive of the Francoist state. However, calling himself
Count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...
was a clear attempt at asserting his hereditary rights to then defunct Spanish throne, as there had been no Count of Barcelona who was not either King of Aragon or of Spain since the Middle Ages. When Juan Carlos was finally given an official capacity in the Spanish state as heir to the kingdom by General Franco, he received the title of "Prince of Spain" and thus began to use this until he became King of Spain. On 21 January 1977 his son, Felipe, would be the first to use all of these titles in any official capacity for over 250 years. With the accession of Felipe to the throne in 2014, his elder daughter Leonor became Princess of Girona, as heiress presumptive to the throne of Aragon. The Princess of Girona Foundation was created in 2009 and is now run on behalf of Princess Leonor: it funds programmes to aid young people.


Holders


See also

*
Count of Girona The Counts of Girona ( ca, Comtes de Girona, es, Condes de Gerona) ruled over the County of Girona (currently in Catalonia), the earliest-established of the Catalan Counties which formed the ''Marca Hispanica''. The line was established by the Fr ...
*
Princess of Girona 200px, The Coat of Arms of the Princes of Girona The Prince or Princess of Girona ( ca, Príncep o Princesa de Girona) is a title that was historically accorded to the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the Crown of Aragon. Current legislatio ...
* List of titles and honours of the Heir Apparent to the Spanish Throne


Notes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince of Girona Crown of Aragon History of Catalonia
Aragonese Empire The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Ba ...
Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...