GI Princess! Leonor of Spain, 17, arrives to start her military training in Zaragoza
- Princess Leonor will be assigned to the Cadet Battalion to commence training
- READ MORE: Queen Letizia will fly to Australia to cheer on Spain
Princess Leonor has arrived to start three years of military training after leaving a prestigious private school in South Wales.
The 17-year-old heir to the Spanish throne arrived at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza this morning, alongside her parents and sister Princess Sofia, where she will be assigned to the Cadet Battalion.
After meeting the military commanders in charge of her training, the future Queen of Spain will undertake a module to help her adapt to military life.
Despite the enormity of the task ahead, the teenager looked relaxed as she waved to wellwishers and smiled for photographs alongside King Felipe, who wore military uniform for the occasion.
Leonor – who admitted she was ‘excited’ but also ‘nervous’ – was dressed down in white jeans and a blue shirt, while her sister Sofia, 16, was also co-ordinated in summer jeans, trainers and a green patterned top.
Princess Leonor of Spain, (left) has arrived to start three years of military training after leaving a prestigious private school in South Wales. She wasjoined by her father King Felipe, mother Queen Letizia and sister Princess Sofia, 16
Spain’s future Queen looked relaxed as she arrived at the military academy and waved to wellwishers
Proud mother Queen Letizia was tpyically elegant in a neutral trouser suit and matching flats.
According to heraldo.es, she will stay in a cabin with as many as twelve other students and will have a haircut and be given basic military equipment before the first training session.
She will be entitled to a salar of 417, although the palace has said she will renounce it.
Rather like a boarding school, the military academy follows a strict timetable during the week. but Leonor will be free to return home at the weekeneds if she’s not on manouevres.
The Princess shook hands with Manuel Pérez López director of the Academy as her proud father looked on
Queen Letizia was tpyically elegant in a neutral trouser suit as she saw her older daughter off to her military training
Leonor graduated with the International Baccalaureate from the UWC Atlantic College in the Welsh county of Vale of Glamorgan in May.
The school is often referred to as ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ thanks to its progressive approach to education and picturesque castle setting.
It was founded in German educationalist Kurt Hahn, is situated at the 12th century St Donat’s Castle on the country’s south coast and costs a whopping £67,000 per year for courses including Tai Chi, the theory of knowledge and Tibetan literature.
Leonor is due to start as a military recruit next month, following into the footsteps of her father King Felipe as well as her grandfather Juan Carlos, who all attended military training with every of the three armed services in the country.
After training at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, which is Spain’s equivalent to Sandhurst, she will go to naval school, and will complete her three years at the General Air Academy.
The princess, who will be 18 in October, revealed her enthusiasm for soon being a cadet at the Princesa de Girona Foundation award ceremony in Girona, in Catalonia, on July 5.
She said: ‘I have just finished high school and I am about to start a new stage with a period of military training.
‘I am happy because I know how much the Spanish value our armed forces… it is an important moment in my life and I feel very excited and determined to continue learning and giving my best effort.’
She shared the news in Spanish, Catalan and English, much to the delight of the award audience, while wearing an emerald dress and golden metallic shoes.
Tatler reported that Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles confirmed Princess Leonor of Asturias’s next move shortly before the 17-year-old’s graduation in May.
Speaking in March, Ms Robles confirmed: ‘In due course, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces will be a woman, and in recent years we have been making a very important effort to incorporate women into the armed forces.’
In September last year the Spanish palace announced that Princess Leonor will go to university to study law once her three years of military training have been completed in 2026.
While Leonor’s choice of university is unknown, the Princess’s academic background already bears a resemblance to that of her father King Felipe.
After graduating from high school at Lakefield College in Canada, Felipe returned to Spain and attended the General Military Academy of Zaragozo, and went on to study at the Naval Military School in Marín.
He ended his training with a stint at the General Air Academy in San Javier.
His also completed his military training with a stint on the shop Juan Sebastián Elcano aged 18 in 1987, and went on to study law at the Autonomous University of Madrid.
Currently, Leonor, who is understood to speak four languages including Mandarin, juggles her life as a young princess with her work as a student at the Welsh boarding school.
For her graduation in May, King Felipe VI, 55, and Queen Letizia, 50, travelled to Wales with their other daughter, Princess Sofia, 16, to celebrate with Leonor.
In one picture, Leonor could be seen proudly showing her graduation certificate up in front of her while smiling into the camera with her family.
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