"It is a very important day for every aspirant who wants to be an official." This is how Lieutenant Colonel Blázquez defines tomorrow's session at the General Military Academy (AGM) in Zaragoza, where everything is ready for Princess Leonor to begin the first of her three years of military training.
Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz will join this Thursday as one more cadet of the 612 that will integrate the LXXXII promotion of this Army teaching center, of which 140 are women. The Princess of Asturias, who will turn 18 on October 31 and will be the first woman in the royal family to receive military training, thus emulates her father, Felipe VI, and her grandfather, the emeritus Juan Carlos I, following in his footsteps through these facilities in 1985 and 1955 respectively.
The heiress to the throne is expected to enter around noon accompanied by her parents, although the presence of both is not yet confirmed. She will be the last image of her as a civilian, since she, after crossing the threshold, will become a Lady Cadet. Once inside, she will hand over her ID and go through the tailor shop to pick up her uniform and the hairdresser's.
For their part, the Kings will be able to participate in the guided tour of the Academy that is offered to all the relatives of the new students of the center. During the hour and a half walk, similar to the one organized this Wednesday for the press, they will be able to see first-hand the facilities where the princess will be trained. In total, more than 70 hectares equipped with bedrooms, classrooms, dining rooms, a bank, chapel, laundry, a store with basic products and all kinds of sports equipment. "It is a small city in terms of services," summed up one of the soldiers in charge of guiding the visit.
The Borbón cadet student will share a cabin with other classmates. They are twelve-seater rooms with their respective beds located in a shared room attached to the toilet area, which has four showers, four sinks and as many toilets. The space is completed with a locker and study area, where students are expected to invest many hours in their training.
In the first two weeks, the princess will address the "welcome, orientation and adaptation" phase that all students go through, in which they are explained what military life consists of, they are given basic equipment and receive the first training sessions and parade.
Once this welcome stage is over, the period of instruction and military training itself begins. Until she swears in the flag on October 7, Leonor will take first-year subjects and, after endorsing her commitment to give her life for military values, she will be regrouped with her second-year classmates. Likewise, during the 2023-2024 academic year, she will also study subjects in the Infantry specialty, the same one that her father, King Felipe VI, chose on her day.
Life at the Academy will not be easy, as it requires discipline, dedication and a lot of dedication to study, as can be seen from the words of those in charge of guiding the journalists around the premises.
On a normal day, they play reveille at 6.30 in the morning, have breakfast and classes start at 7.45, which last until 2:00 p.m. At that moment they go to one of the four dining rooms that the center has, where they serve a first course and a second, "the same for everyone, with no possibility of choice", and dessert, where there is more variety, indicated the colonel responsible for Food.
The afternoons are dedicated to studying and to the activities that the instructors have programmed for the students, which in Leonor's case will be quite a few when condensing two courses into one. They have dinner between 8:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m., go to bed at 10:30 p.m. and silence at 11:00 p.m. "If you want, you can continue studying in the area designated for it in the cabin, but without disturbing your classmates," they explained.
With regard to leisure, departures are authorized from the second quarter from Friday at 2:00 p.m. to Sunday at 11:00 p.m., as long as 60% of the corresponding credits from the previous quarter have been approved.
For those who cannot or do not want to go out, the academy has a recreation area known as the Casino -soft drinks, coffee, food and beer or wine are served as the only options with alcohol- or the numerous sports facilities, among which the swimming pool stands out. deck, the gym, or the basketball, soccer, or volleyball courts. “It is his favorite leisure space. Physical training and training is what they like the most”, clarifies the person in charge of the section.
Regarding the privacy of the princess and the use of mobile devices, an issue that worries the King and Queen, their use in military units and in classes is regulated, and it is hoped that some more specific indication will be given to classmates of Eleanor.
The princess, who has renounced receiving the salary of 417 euros that corresponds to the first and second year cadets, will conclude her studies in the Aragonese capital in July 2024 with her appointment as Dama Ensign Cadet.
He will then continue his training at the Navy Academy in Marín (Pontevedra) and, the following year, at the Air Force Academy in San Javier (Murcia). Once instructed in the three armies, she will become number one in the promotion of the 2026/27 course with the rank of lieutenant, in Land and Air, and of naval ensign, and from there she will rise at the rate they do. his companions from his batch.
