This week, the Royal Household shared images of Princess Leonor flying a Pilatus PC-21 solo at the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier.
This is the second time we have seen her do so, and the photos were released on the same day it was confirmed that, after completing her military service, she will study Political Science at Carlos III University of Madrid. The Zarzuela Palace released both pieces of news at almost the same time, which does not seem coincidental.
The photos were made possible by a second aircraft flying alongside the Princess’s plane, which served as a photographic platform. This made it possible to capture her at the controls, wearing her regulation helmet and flight suit, focused and calm, and at one point waving from the cockpit.
That wave, with the plane in mid-flight and no co-pilot, is an image that will be shared for a long time to come. It conveys a confidence that cannot be faked, and which, in her case, stems from three years of intensive training across all three armed services.
In addition to the flight, the Royal Household also included photographs of her daily life at the Academy.
In the photos, Leonor is shown instructing cadets on rescue signaling as part of a SERE exercise, which covers survival, evasion, resistance, and escape.
We also see her leading a section during a flag-raising ceremony. These images don’t show her in an official capacity; rather, they depict her actually working at the academy, alongside her classmates, as just another cadet in her third and final year in the Air Force.
