The heir to the throne of Spain, Princess Leonor, swore fidelity to the Constitution this Tuesday, when she turned 18, in a pompous ceremony in the Spanish Parliament from which she could legally succeed Felipe VI as head of state.
Leonor de Borbón, accompanied by her father the king, her mother Queen Letizia and her sister Infanta Sofía, took the oath in a special session of the Cortes, a procedure that her grandfather Juan Carlos I completed in 1969, during the Franco dictatorship. and Felipe VI in 1986, in democracy.
The royal family traveled between their residence in the capital of Spain, the Zarzuela Palace, and the Congress of Deputies, which hosted the event in a joint session with the Senate, in the center of Madrid in several Rolls-Royces. historical escorted by the Royal Guard.
There they were received by the acting president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to listen to the national anthem, after which the king, as head of state, reviewed an honorary battalion of the Spanish Armed Forces and Civil Guard.
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I swear to faithfully carry out my duties, to keep and ensure that the Constitution and the laws are kept.
The royal family, accompanied by authorities from the executive, legislative and judicial branches, was received with applause upon entering the chamber of the Spanish Congress. The president of Congress, Francina Armengol, described the act as “historic” and defined the princess as “worthy representative of this country.” modern and open to the world, a young woman, close to the majority feelings of her generation”.
“I swear to faithfully carry out my duties, to keep and ensure that the Constitution and the laws are kept, to respect the rights of the citizens and the autonomous communities and to be faithful to the king,” Leonor expressed with one hand when swearing on the same copy of the Constitution on the that his father did.
Dressed in a white suit, The princess was applauded for several minutes after her oath in the Parliament Chamber.
Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish Crown, at the oath of loyalty to the Constitution ceremony.
The ceremony was followed on giant screens placed in the central Puerta del Sol in Madrid and in other places in the Spanish capital. Around Parliament, a crowd gave him support waving Spanish flags.
In Spain, a parliamentary monarchy, The Constitution establishes that the male has preference to inherit the Crown, but Leonor does not have male siblings.
King Emeritus Juan Carlos I, who, dogged by scandals in the last part of his reign, abdicated in 2014 and settled in Abu Dhabi in 2020, was not present at the ceremony. He will participate, according to the press, in the family celebration at the El Pardo palace, on the outskirts of Madrid.
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Nor did the representatives of the parties that concentrate republican sentiment attend, the Catalan, Basque and Galician independentists, and a part of the left.
“No monarchy, no constitution. Democracy. Freedom. Republics,” the independence parties indicated in a manifesto this Tuesday, which they said represented “the sentiment of millions of people (…) who neither recognize nor support the Spanish monarchical regime.”
![Princess Eleanor](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/uploads/2023/10/31/6540eb95ea7f6.jpeg)
Princess Leonor, heir to the Spanish Crown, King Felipe VI and the entire royal family at the oath-taking of the Constitution.
Three of the government ministers belonging to the left-wing Sumar platform, members of republican parties, did not attend the ceremony. Yes, there was the socialist Pedro Sánchez, the president of the outgoing government and who is currently negotiating a new executive to remain in power, for which he needs the votes of the Catalan and Basque independentists.
Unlike Juan Carlos, the Princess of Asturias arouses sympathy in a country where the debate on the monarchy is perennial.
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With this oath, Leonor de Borbón is entitled to replace her father in the event of death, abdication or incapacity. without the need for a regency, which is why it symbolizes dynastic continuity.
The oath had a script very similar to that of the then Prince Philip in 1986.
![Spain](https://www.eltiempo.com/files/article_content_new/uploads/2023/10/31/6540ebe633430.jpeg)
Dozens of people follow the swearing-in ceremony of Leonor de Borbón’s Constitution on a giant screen installed in the Real Casa de Correos, headquarters of the Government of the Community of Madrid.
The events planned for this Tuesday also include a reception for authorities and a representation of the company at the Royal Palace in Madrid, where The heir to the Spanish Crown will give her first speech after the oath, and a family celebration at the El Pardo Palace in the capital of Spain.
After completing primary and high school studies in Madrid and the United Kingdom, respectively, Leonor recently began three years of military training, like her father did.
*With AFP and EFE
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