The Preparation Princess Leonor Has To Undergo Before She Can Be Spain's Queen Regnant

It has been well over a century since Spain has had a reigning queen, but one Gen Z royal is making history. Leonor, Princess of Asturias, the daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, is the heir to the Spanish throne and will be the first queen regnant of Spain since Isabella II, who ruled from 1833 to 1868. A lot has changed since Isabella's reign; Leonor has already encountered niche 21st-century problems, including AI-generated deep fakes and tabloid fodder about potential relationships — most notably, Trump fans have been hoping Barron Trump and Princess Leonor end up together. And unlike her female predecessor, who ascended the throne as an ill-equipped toddler, the princess is ensuring that she is prepared to wear the crown.

To prepare for her future ascension, which will occur when her father either abdicates or dies, Leonor began her three-year military training in 2023. The king and queen said that her time in the armed forces "reinforces the capacities for service and dedication, and facilitates the representation duties that she will have to assume" on the throne, according to a press release from The Royal Household of Spain.

In August of that year, Leonor started at the Army Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. One year later, she transitioned to the Navy, where she was appointed as a midshipman and spent roughly 10 months at sea, training as a sailor. In September 2025, she had graduated from her naval duties and moved on to the General Air and Space Academy, where she made history, becoming the first female member of the Spanish royal family to complete a solo flight.

Her diplomatic training has already begun as well. In July 2024, the Princess of Asturias made her first official royal visit in a solo trip to Portugal. She reflected on her parents' own foreign visit to the European country, their first as king and queen, saying (via The Diplomat): "[King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia], who have been here on so many occasions, have spoken to me with great affection, with a sense of longing, about their visits to Portugal, the warmth they received in its streets, and how they were always made to feel at home. That's how I feel today." Leonor also made her first visit to Navarre, an autonomous community in Northern Spain, with her parents in September 2025, emphasizing her historic title as Princess of Viana.

Leonor attended school in Madrid, before receiving an International Baccalaureate at the UWC Atlantic College in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, U.K., in May 2023. She has yet to complete her training with the Spanish Air Force, as of this writing, but according to the 2023 press release, the princess will likely pursue an undergraduate and, potentially, a postgraduate degree. Princess Leonor's life will change when she becomes queen, and we can't wait to see what the future holds for her!