(Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz; born 31 October 2005) is the

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 throne of Spain as the elder daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. In addition to the official title of

Princess 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 ...

, she bears the historical titles of Princess of Girona, Princess of Viana,

Duchess of Montblanc Duke of Montblanc ( ca, Duc de Montblanc, es, Duque de Montblanc) is a noble Spanish title which since the 15th century has been preserved as one of the titles of the heir apparent to, first, the Aragonese crown and, later and currently, the Spa ...

, Countess of Cervera and Lady of Balaguer. If Leonor ascends to the throne as expected, she will be

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

's first

queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

since her great-great-great-great-grandmother

Isabella II Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

, who reigned from 1833 to 1868.

Birth

Leonor was born to Felipe and Letizia, then the prince and princess of Asturias, on 31 October 2005 at 01:46, during the reign of her paternal grandfather, King Juan Carlos I, in the Ruber International Hospital in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

by means of a caesarean section necessitated by non-progression of labour. As the daughter of the heir apparent, she was an

infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

and the second in the

line of succession to the Spanish throne Succession to the Spanish throne follows male-preference cognatic primogeniture. A dynast who marries against the express prohibition of the monarch and the Cortes Generales, the legislative chamber of Spain, is excluded from the succession. Up ...

. Her birth was announced by the royal family to the press via SMS. Leonor left the Ruber International Hospital with her parents on 7 November 2005. She was baptised in the Zarzuela Palace by the archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, on 14 January 2006. Like her father, Leonor was baptized – with water from the Jordan River – in a romanesque baptismal font that has been used to christen Spanish princes since the 17th century. Her godparents were her paternal grandparents, King Juan Carlos I and

Queen Sofía Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. She received the name of Leonor de Todos los Santos.

Education and activities

Leonor's education began at Escuela Infantil Guardia Real, the daycare for the children of the

Spanish Royal Guard The Royal Guard ( es, Guardia Real) is an independent regiment of the Spanish Armed Forces that is dedicated to the protection of the King of Spain and members of the Spanish Royal Family. It currently has a strength of 1,500 troops. While the gu ...

. She began her first year of primary school on 15 September 2008 at the Santa María de los Rosales School in

Aravaca Aravaca is a ward (''Barrio'') of the city of Madrid, in Moncloa-Aravaca district. It is from the city centre, on the other side of Casa de Campo park. The population of the barrio is 29,547 (January 2006), divided into three areas: Aravaca (2 ...

, just outside Madrid. Her father is an alumnus of the private school and her younger sister, Sofía, is also enrolled there. Leonor is fluent in both

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

(the latter learnt from her British

nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

and also from her grandmother, Queen Sofía) and has studied Mandarin. In May 2014, Leonor made her first official visit to the San Javier Air Force base in

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

. On 18 June 2014, King Juan Carlos signed the instrument of

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...

, and the following day at the stroke of midnight (18–19 June 2014) Leonor's father ascended the throne becoming King Felipe VI, and Leonor became his

and Princess of Asturias. According to the Spanish constitution of 1975, the succession to the Spanish throne is under a system of

male-preference cognatic primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

, meaning that Leonor, as the elder of Felipe's two daughters, is first in line to inherit the throne. Under the current law, however, if her father has a legitimate son while still being king, Leonor would be displaced in the line of succession and again become an Infanta of Spain. There have been discussions about changing the succession law to absolute primogeniture, allowing for the inheritance of the eldest child, regardless of sex; however, the birth of Leonor, followed by that of her younger sister Sofía, stalled these plans. Despite a change from male-preference to absolute primogeniture for Spanish titles of nobility in 2009, as of no legislation has been passed affecting the succession to the throne. 2019_National_Day_of_Spain_04

In October 2014, a wax figure of Leonor was unveiled at the Museo de Cera in Madrid. On 20 May 2015, Leonor received First Communion as per Catholic custom. A day before her 10th birthday, she was granted the Order of the Golden Fleece by her father. In addition, the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

approved the design of her personal

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and guidon. Coinciding with the 50th birthday of King Felipe, in January 2018, the King officially gave Leonor the collar of the Golden Fleece in a ceremony at the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid ( es, Palacio Real de Madrid) is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the ...

. In September 2018, Leonor conducted her first public engagement outside the palace by accompanying her parents to Covadonga to celebrate the 1,300th anniversary of the

Kingdom of Asturias The Kingdom of Asturias ( la, Asturum Regnum; ast, Reinu d'Asturies) was a kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula founded by the Visigothic nobleman Pelagius. It was the first Christian political entity established after the Umayyad conquest of ...

. On 31 October 2018, Princess Leonor gave her first public speech, held at the

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the most important figur ...

in Madrid, where she read the first article of the

Constitution of Spain The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was ...

. The speech coincided with the 40th anniversary of the constitution and her 13th birthday. On 18 October 2019, she made her first significant speech at Premio Princesa de Asturias. On 4 November 2019, she made her first speech at the Princess of Girona Foundation awards in Barcelona, in which she spoke in Spanish, Catalan, English and Arabic. On 10 February 2021, it was announced that in the autumn of 2021 she would continue her secondary education at the

United World College of the Atlantic Atlantic College (formally the United World College of the Atlantic; alternatively styled UWC Atlantic College, UWCAC, or UWCA) is an independent boarding school in the Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales. Founded in 1962, it was the first of t ...

in Wales, studying the 2-year

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...

. She carried out her first public solo engagement in the same month by attending a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Coat of Arms of Leonor, Princess of Asturias

*31 October 2005-19 June 2014 Her Royal Highness Infanta Leonor of Spain *19 June 2014 - present: Her Royal Highness The Princess of Asturias Leonor is also as heir presumptive to the Spanish throne Princess 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 capital ...

, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of

Cervera Cervera () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Autonomous Community of Catalonia, Spain. The title Comte de Cervera is a courtesy title, formerly part of the Crown of Aragon, that has been revived for Leonor ...

and Lady of

Balaguer Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city i ...

Honours

As heir presumptive to the throne, she is the nominal chairwoman of the Princess of Asturias Foundation and the Princess of Girona Foundation, although until she becomes 18, those functions are assumed by her father. Also as traditional for the heir to the throne, her father awarded her the medal and collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece (awarded 30 October 2015, presented 30 January 2018).

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leonor, Princess Of Asturias 2005 births Living people Daughters of kings Nobility from Madrid Spanish infantas Spanish princesses Princes of Asturias Felipe VI of Spain House of Bourbon (Spain) Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Spanish people of Greek descent People educated at Atlantic College