Princess Leonor of Spain, heir to the throne, will reach an important royal milestone this October.
On October 31, she will swear allegiance to the Spanish Constitution, exactly on her 18th birthday, following in the footsteps of previous monarchs.
The solemn ceremony before Parliament will mark the coming of age of the future Queen, who will assume an increasingly public institutional role.
Princess Leonor will swear the oath to the constitution
The Spanish Royal Household has confirmed that Leonor’s swearing-in before the Cortes Generales, the country’s legislative body, will take place on her 18th birthday.
The date is significant, as her father, King Felipe VI, took the oath of office on the same day as her 18th birthday, in 1986.
After her parliamentary appearance, Princess Leonor will receive the Order of the Collar of Charles III from her father at the Royal Palace.
The country’s highest order of civil merit will formally mark her status as heir to the Crown. It will be followed by a celebratory luncheon with high-ranking authorities, Casa Real reported.
The Zarzuela has revealed that a private family party open to the whole family will be held that night at the Palace of El Pardo. There Leonor will meet with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins out of the public eye.
The King’s father and former monarch Juan Carlos I has been invited to participate in the festivities.
It will be his first return to El Pardo since he went into self-imposed exile in 2020 amid a financial scandal.
Leonor’s oath will have profound significance given Spain’s complex history.
Her grandfather, King Emeritus Juan Carlos oversaw the country’s democratic transition following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.
The 1978 Constitution, to which Leonor will swear allegiance, was instrumental in establishing Spain as a modern European nation based on human rights and shared national sovereignty.
Although she became heir after King Felipe’s enthronement in 2014, this ceremony officially introduces the princess to palace life as an adult member of the royal family.
Princess of Asturias military training
The swearing-in ceremony will mark the culmination of another month of intense military training for the princess, who at the end of August entered the Spanish Military Academy in Zaragoza to begin her instruction as an official army cadet.
Leonor has already participated in combat drills, firearms practice, topographical field exercises, and other military training.
Princess Leonor has already received the Grancé beret and recently participated in the traditional saber ceremony.
The princess’s next milestone at the military academy will be her pledge of allegiance to the flag on October 7, before taking her vow to uphold the Constitution that month.