Kirsty Mckenzie
PRINCESS Leonor of Spain has urged young people around the world to help build a better future. Speaking at the 2021 Princess of Asturias Awards gala, which was founded by her father in 1980, the heir to the throne closed the glittering ceremony in Asturias with a passionate speech.
“As a high school student, I think of all of us who can do more and how much we can learn from tonight’s winners,” she said onstage at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo on Friday.
“You project on us, the youngest, the certainty that we also have a lot to contribute, that we can be important and show ourselves responsible to try to think about a more sustainable, fairer, better future for everyone.
“Studying and observing your work excites me and fills me with strength to continue assuming my responsibilities and always work with the greatest commitment.”
The 15-year-old princess of Asturias has been studying at UWC Atlantic College in Wales since September but returned to Spain to attend the annual awards during her half term break.
Princess Leonor was there to congratulate the winners and hand out the trophies created by Spanish prestigious sculptor Joan Miro.
Sharing its name with Leonor, who is heir to the Spanish throne and holds the title of Princess of Asturias, the annual awards are presented to individuals or organisations who make notable achievements in the sciences, humanities, and public affairs.
Speaking onstage she said: “I am very happy to return to Oviedo to celebrate the delivery of our awards. I have always seen my parents on this stage honouring the initiatives and ideas that improve our society.”
She added that would ‘miss Asturias, a place which she loves so much’ where she and her sister Princess Sofia, 14, ‘always feel at home’.
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