In March, the Spanish royal family announced that their older daughter, the future queen of Spain, would be entering a three-year military training program this fall. In August, King Felipe and Queen Letizia dropped off Princess Leonor and her military training began. She’s only 17 years old! I know it’s like dropping your kid off at college, but still – Leonor still looks so young, and I can only imagine that Felipe and Letizia have been going through some serious empty-nest syndrome. Well, Leonor had some kind of flag ceremony this past weekend, and her parents came up to see it.

The future queen of Spain has made an important promise with her father, King Felipe, looking on and his pride in his daughter was clear to see. After joining the 68th class of cadets paying homage to the Pilar Virgin in an evening service on October 6th 2023, the General Military Academy in Zaragoza woke up the following morning decorated for a big celebration.

The religious ceremony took place in the Zaragoza Cathedral, where all cadets walked to be presented in front of the Pilar Virgin, considered the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces in Zaragoza, and the patron saint of the academy. After the service, cadets were allowed to be reunited with the family members who were waiting for them outside the church.

On the morning of October 7th 2023, Princess Leonor was among the 411 cadets who swore their allegiance to the Spanish flag in a moving and solemn ceremony in the main court of the institution. The ceremony was attended by King Felipe who was not only present as the Chief of the Armed Forces , but also as father of one of the cadets. Queen Letizia also beamed with pride as the ceremony unfolded.

[From Royal Central]

While it sounds like the king had a legitimate reason to attend this ceremony, both he and Letizia used it as an excuse to check in on Leonor. I also wonder if this is the kind of military training program where Leonor has to spend the entire time on the base/campus? Is she allowed to go home on weekends? Are there holidays in the training program? Hm. Anyway, Leonor looks sharp in her dress uniform and I’m sure she’s homesick a little bit.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.