Princess Leonor of Spain Is 20, Speaks 8 Languages, Is Doing Military Service, and Is Set to Be Spain’s First Reigning Queen in 150 Years
Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz, Princess of Asturias, is 20 years old, holds an International Baccalaureate from UWC Atlantic College in Wales, and just finished three years of military training across all three branches of Spain’s armed forces. She is set to become the country’s first reigning queen in more than 150 years.
Spain uses male-preference primogeniture under Article 57 of its 1978 Constitution. The eldest child inherits, but a male takes precedence over a female of the same rank. That’s how her father, Felipe VI, became king ahead of his two older sisters.
Which means a younger brother would have displaced Leonor as heir. Felipe and Letizia have only two children, both daughters: Leonor, born in 2005, and Infanta Sofía, born in 2007. Spanish media and royal watchers have long linked the decision to stop there to protecting Leonor’s place in the succession, though the Royal Household has never confirmed it and family planning in royal households stays private. Reform to absolute primogeniture has been discussed for years but never enacted, so as the law stands today a future legitimate son of Felipe would still bump Leonor down to Infanta.
Her résumé is already unusual for a 20-year-old. She swore allegiance to the Constitution before the Cortes Generales on her 18th birthday in October 2023. Her military training followed the same path her father took: an Army phase at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, a Naval phase that included a five-month voyage on the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano and time aboard the frigate Blas de Lezo, and an Air and Space Force phase at the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier, Murcia. She learned to fly fighter jets alongside her father, became the only member of the royal family to complete a parachuting course, and graduated in July 2026 with the rank of alférez de fragata alumna and the Grand Cross of Aeronautical Merit.
In September she starts a four-year Political Science degree at Carlos III University of Madrid, the same program her sister Sofía is studying. She’s expected to balance university with royal duties, as she did through secondary school and military training, and to take on more constitutional responsibilities over the next few years.
The last woman to reign over Spain was Queen Isabella II, whose reign ended in 1868.
Thanks for spending time with Thought Catalog. Connect with us on Facebook and browse the rest of our website.
