The Spanish royal family is together again. Princess Leonor of Spain publicly reunited with both of her parents and sister on Wednesday in Marin. King Felipe and Queen Letizia, accompanied by their younger daughter Infanta Sofia, presided over the solemn ceremony of the Oath of Allegiance and presentation of Royal Orders to the new officers of the Navy at the Naval Military Academy of Marín, where Leonor started her naval training last August.
The ceremony began with the transfer of the Flag, followed by the reading of the Royal Decree granting the Grand Cross of Naval Merit with white distinction to the Princess of Asturias. His Majesty proudly awarded the Grand Cross of Naval Merit to his firstborn before giving her a hug. Leonor was also seen embracing her mother and sister at the ceremony, which marked the first time that the family has been pictured all together in months. Their Majesties and their daughters’ last public engagement as a family of four was last October, the day after the Princess of Asturias Awards.
In January, the Queen and King bid farewell to their older daughter before she set sail onboard the Juan Sebastián de Elcano training ship, where her naval training continued. After months apart, Letizia reunited with Leonor in May when the Juan Sebastián de Elcano training ship docked in Panama City. The Princess Asturias also had a reunion earlier this month with her sister Sofia, who graduated from UWC Atlantic in Wales this past May, in Gijón.
© Getty ImagesEarlier this week, Leonor reflected on her past year in the Navy. “Time has passed very quickly, as the intense months in Marín have been followed by the training cruise on the training ship and the weeks on the frigate. But whether in Marín or at sea, I feel that this year in the Navy has served to strengthen the values of honor, valor, discipline, and loyalty that define our Naval Military Academy,” the 19-year-old Princess said on Monday (translated to English). “I’m also referring to the academic rigor and the excellent training and instruction I and my classmates have received. None of this would have been possible without the good work of the commanders, professors, and the staff who work at the school and those who are part of the crew of the ships on which I’ve had the opportunity to embark.”
“And, of course, I want to mention my colleagues, the 75 midshipmen from my class and those from other classes with whom I’ve also shared a lot of time. They’ve all welcomed me and helped me since that August 29th of last year when I entered the gate of Carlos I. Together we have expressed our gratitude for the affection that the people of Marín have always shown, and that is why I feel very honored that you consider me an adopted daughter of Marín. Thank you, Mayor, thank you to the municipality and all the residents,” she continued. “There I go now, after receiving, here in Santiago, the Gold Medal of Galicia. A distinction that, as it says in its relief, is awarded “ós bos e xenerosos” (to the good and generous). I think there’s no better way to describe the people of this land, to you, who today grant me, President, such a valuable recognition. We’re almost separated, but I won’t be homesick because I always want to return to Galicia. Or as I heard when we entered the Ferrol estuary, this is my home, where the sea ends.”
© Carlos Alvarez/Getty ImagesLeonor, whose three-year military training began back in 2023, will complete her final year of military training “in the Air and Space Army.” Casa de S.M. el Rey has previously shared that the Princess will join “the San Javier General Air Academy for the 2025-2026 academic year as Ensign Student.”
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