Princess Leonor Begins University Journey After Three Years in the Military

Princess Leonor has started university in Madrid after completing three years of military training with Spain’s Army, Navy and Air and Space Force.

The 20-year-old Princess of Asturias arrived at Carlos III University’s Getafe campus on September 7, greeted by rector Ángel Arias and other university officials. Before entering the faculty, Leonor said she was starting her university studies “with great enthusiasm.”

Leonor will spend the next four years studying Political Science at the public university. Her degree covers areas including political science, law, economics, sociology, history, humanities and international relations, giving her an academic background closely connected to public affairs and the responsibilities she will eventually assume as Spain’s head of state.

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Her university arrival follows an unusually intensive three-year military education. She began at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza before continuing her training at the Naval Military Academy in Marín and later the General Air and Space Academy in San Javier. Her time in the Navy included months aboard the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, while her final year included flight and parachute training.

That period of military training was part of her preparation for her future role as commander-in-chief of Spain’s armed forces. She is expected to receive her commissions as a lieutenant in the Army and Air and Space Force and as an ensign in the Navy next July.

At university, however, Leonor is expected to follow the same academic routine as other students. Around 40 students will share her classroom during the first year, and the university has stressed that her presence has not resulted in special selection of students or professors. Her classes are scheduled from 9am to 2pm, with seminars held on Thursdays.

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There is still considerable attention around her arrival. More than 4,000 new students began their studies at Carlos III University that day, while journalists gathered outside the Getafe campus to document the heir to the Spanish throne beginning her studies. Officials have said the aim is to maintain a sense of normality for Leonor and her classmates.

Leonor will also continue carrying out her institutional responsibilities alongside her studies. Her move from military academies to a public university marks another stage in the preparation of Spain’s future queen, this time through a degree focused on the political, legal and social subjects that will form part of her public life.