Simon Hunter
THE HEIR to the Spanish throne, Princess Leonor, is due to start military training in the autumn, following in the footsteps of her father, King Felipe VI.
She will spend time in the three Spanish armed forces during her training, according to an announcement made on Tuesday by Defense Minister Margarita Robles, and reported by agency Europa Press.
Leonor, 17, is currently studying her secondary education at the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. But from the end of August or beginning of September, she will begin military training in the regular army at the General Academy in Zaragoza, in the Aragón region.
The second year of her training will see her join the Marin Naval School in Pontevedra, in the Galicia region, while her third year will be spent at the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier, Murcia region.
Robles pointed to the fact that, in the future, Spain will have a woman at the head of the Armed Forces, given that this is the role that falls to the monarch.
The Royal Household released a statement in which it said that the king and Queen Letizia consider ‘the Princess’s military training very convenient and valuable’, on the basis it ‘strengthens her capacity to serve and commitment’.
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