Leonor de Borbón y Ortíz is already counting the hours to take on stripes. As tradition marks, the princess and her fellow cadets at the General Military Academy (AGM), where she entered in August to begin her three years of military training, participated this Friday in the traditional floral offering to the Virgin of Pilar in Zaragoza to invoke its protection. This is the first public military act of the heir to the Crown, who tomorrow will swear the flag in the Aragonese capital in the presence of her parents, the Kings of Spain.
The event, which is voluntary and takes place every year, began shortly before seven in the afternoon in the Plaza del Pilar, where Princess Leonor and her more than 400 first-year classmates arrived dressed in their khaki uniform and grancé cap.
Once there, four companies of cadets - the princess's is number 11 - formed on the esplanade in front of the basilica and the large audience in attendance to receive the general director of the AGM, Manuel Pérez López, who reviewed them. The princess was seen relaxed in the previous moments, smiling while she chatted with the rest of her classmates.
After this event, the uniformed men were received by the Archbishop of Zaragoza, Carlos Escribano, inside the basilica, which they entered through the door closest to the City Hall. Inside, Pilarica, patron saint of Hispanidad, was waiting for them, previously adorned with the mantle that the AGM gave her decades ago.
Once inside, divided into three groups of 200 people around the Virgin's chapel, the uniformed men participate in the act of offering flowers, which they place at the Virgin's feet. At the conclusion of the event, which lasted just a few minutes, the gentlemen and ladies cadets were able to go to greet their families who are around the Basilica, where there was great expectation to see the heiress.
This event served as an appetizer for the main course that will take place tomorrow in the Patio de Armas of La General with the swearing in of the flag, to which the Kings, Felipe VI and Leticia are expected to attend. After almost two months of training, just as her father did 38 years ago, the princess will answer “yes, I swear” to the question of whether she is willing to give her life for Spain “if necessary”, a promise that she will seal with a kiss to the national flag.
The monarch, just as Juan Carlos I did when his son was sworn in in October 1985, is expected to speak a few words during the ceremony. However, unlike on that occasion, Lady Cadet Borbón Ortiz will not honor the flag alone, something her father did, but with the rest of the first-year students.
During her time at the academy, the King's Household has provided images of the princess wearing her uniform, participating in the presentation of sabers and in various training activities. According to what the director of the AGM, General Manuel Pérez López, said this week, cadet Borbón is “integrated perfectly with her classmates” and has developed “all the activities that the first years have carried out and the specific subjects of her study.” without news. “It's going pretty well,” he added.
After the swearing-in, Leonor de Borbón will become a second-year student, due to the special plan designed for her, which will allow her to spend the night outside the academy.
His busy schedule for this month does not end here. The heiress is expected to be present at the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony to be held in Oviedo on the 20th. Just 11 days later, on October 31, the princess will come of age on a day in which she will be sworn in. the Constitution in the Congress of Deputies. That day, she is also scheduled to receive the Collar of the Order of Charles III at the Royal Palace.
