Princess Leonor was honoured by King Felipe VI in the presence of Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofía.
Like every year, King Felipe VI of Spain presided over the ceremony to award royal dispatches and appoint new officers to the Naval Academy.
On July 16, this ceremony was special for King Felipe. Queen Letizia and Infanta Sofia were present at the ceremony, and Princess Leonor was among the officers who received awards. King Felipe presented his daughter with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Navy. This is the second military award for the Princess of Asturias.
The 19-year-old Princess Leonor of Spain has just completed a year of training at the Naval Academy in La Marina, Galicia. This is her second year at the military academy. Last year, the heir to the throne completed a year of training in the army, and in a few weeks she will begin her third year of training, this time in the air force.
King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia, Princess of Asturias and Infanta Sofia attended the annual swearing-in ceremony for new Navy officers. During the ceremony, each new recruit swears allegiance to the flag. This year, Princess Leonor took an active part in the ceremony, having completed an accelerated training programme at the Naval Academy. The completion of her training was also accompanied by an award, which was proudly presented to her by her father.
By royal decree signed on July 15 by King Felipe VI, on the recommendation of Defence Minister Margarita Robles Fernández, the Princess of Asturias was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit. Spanish military awards are unique in that they are distributed according to rank and colour.
The order has two ranks: the cross and the grand cross. The colours are red, blue, yellow or white, depending on the merit. The Princess of Asturias received the white insignia. This colour is not associated with any specific action and is awarded when the merit does not fall under any other category. The blue insignia is awarded for merit during a mission on behalf of the United Nations; the red insignia means that the merit was achieved during a combat mission requiring the use of weapons. Finally, the yellow insignia is awarded to a deserving military personnel who was wounded during a mission.
Other awards
This is Leonor’s second military award. In July 2024, at the end of her first year of training at the Main Military Academy, she was awarded the white Grand Cross “For Military Merit.” The insignia she received last year is a white ribbon with a red line down the centre. The naval insignia is a red-yellow-red ribbon, like the Spanish flag.
For the simple rank of the Naval Cross of Merit, the medal in the form of a cross is attached under a red-yellow-red ribbon. For the rank of Grand Cross, the medal is replaced by a ribbon worn on the belt and a star attached to the chest. The star is a white cross with a blue anchor. The ribbon and star are worn only on special occasions, on dress uniforms.
Depending on the level of protocol and type of uniform, the insignia are worn in miniature or on a bar. The bar is made in the colours of the ribbon and other distinctive marks, such as gold lines indicating rank. In addition to the two military orders, Princess Leonor also holds the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Order of Charles III with a chain. She also holds a Portuguese insignia, which she wears only in Portugal or in the presence of the Portuguese head of state.
