Who Is Princess Leonor? 20YO Royal To Be Spain's First Queen In 150 Years

Flying solo over Murcia’s skies, Princess Leonor completed not only her military training but also earned her wings in the legacy of Spanish royal history. She is the first female member of the royal family to pilot a flight solo. More urgently, she is the heir to the Spanish throne, the first woman in over a century.

Education and Military Training

Born in 2005, the princess completed her schooling from Santa María de los Rosales School in Madrid and earned an International Baccalaureate from UWC Atlantic College, Wales.

According to the Spanish law, military training is compulsory for the heir to the throne. Just like her father and grandfather, Princess Leonor has been training across the three branches of the Army, Navy, and Air and Space Force while holding the ranks of Cadet Ensign and Midshipman in the Army and the Navy, respectively.

She is also proficient in several languages, such as Spanish, Catalan, and English, while also having studied French, Arabic, and Mandarin.

Royal Lineage and Titles

Spain’s monarchy has been held by the House of Bourbon since the early 1700s. Monarchy was restored in 1975 after General Franco’s dictatorship.

King Juan Carlos I, Leonor’s grandfather, abdicated the throne in 2014, passing it to King Felipe VI, her father. Following this, she was granted all the traditional titles of the heir to the Spanish crown.

These are Princess of Asturias, Princess of Girona, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Montblanc, Countess of Cervera, and Lady of Balaguer. She was formally proclaimed heir before the Cortes on 31 October 2023, her 18th birthday.

Princess Leonor is the Princess of Asturias and heir to the Spanish throne. She is expected to become Spain’s first reigning queen in nearly 150 years, since Queen Isabella II (1833–1868).

While her role as queen will be constitutional and titular, her ascension is seen as a symbol and a reflection of women in leadership in modern Spain.