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29 March 2024

Spain's 8-year-old queen-to-be

Published
By AFP

(AFP)

Like many eight-year-old girls, she eats in the school canteen and goes to ballet class.

Her friends know her as Leonor -- but soon they will have to call her "Highness" -that's Princess Leonor of Spain.

Her childhood will not be the same now that her grandfather Juan Carlos is stepping down as king of Spain.

(Getty)

Once her father Felipe is crowned king, she will no longer be "Infanta", but Princess -- and one day Queen. She will be the youngest direct royal heir in Europe.

She will step out for the cameras to zoom in on her blue eyes, blonde hair and toothy smile. Royal-watchers say those may be just the charms the Spanish royal family needs to save its image.

Prince Felipe of Spain, Princess Letizia of Spain and their daugthers Princess Leonor of Spain (R) and Princess Sofia of Spain (L) visit 'La Granja' (Big Historical Mansion) on August 5, 2013 in Esporles, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (Getty Images)

"Until now, her parents have deliberately protected her so that she is not in the papers all the time. Those days are over," said the prince's biographer, Jose Apezarena.

"They will still try to minimise the impact on her personal life, but soon she is going to be the heir to the throne. It will change her life," he added.

(AFP)

"I feel a bit sorry for her because the change is going to take away some of her freedom."

'Normal' childhood

In this handout photo from the Spanish Royal Household, shows the 2013 Christmas card featuring Prince Felipe of Spain with Princess Letizia of Spain and their children Princess Sofia and Princess Leonoron undated in Madrid, Spain. (Getty Images)

Prince Felipe and his wife Letizia were already darlings of the celebrity press when Leonor was born on October 31, 2005. Letizia, an ex-newsreader, has made countless front pages.

The births of Leonor and her sister Sofia, who is now seven, turned them into possibly the cutest royal family in the world: a tall prince, glamorous mother and two little girls with long blonde hair.

Spanish Royals (L-R) Princess Letizia of Spain, Prince Felipe of Spain, Queen Sofia of Spain, Princess Sofia of Spain, Princess Leonor of Spain, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Elena of Spain attend the Easter Mass at the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca on April 20, 2014 in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. (Getty Images)

The couple have kept their daughters largely out of view so their childhoods can be as normal as possible.

The few glimpses of the girls allowed by the palace have shown them smiling as they hold hands with their mother and father or their grandmother, Queen Sofia.

(Getty)

"Leonor is a very intelligent child, very active but calm. She faces the cameras with great serenity," said Apezarena.

"She is very caring towards her sister. She makes sure to give her advice and help," he said.

"She does the same things as her classmates, eats in school, goes to ballet class, and studies English."

(Getty)

She is said to speak good English, learned from her grandmother and a British nanny as well as at Holy Mary of the Rose Bushes, her expensive private school in western Madrid.

Pretty face, saving face

(AFP)

Behind the walls of the royal Zarzuela Palace and Holy Mary of the Rose Bushes, Leonor may hear little of the noisy street protests by those who want Spain to be a republic.

Spain's Princes Letizia (L) and her daughter Leonor arrives at the traditional Mass of Resurrection in Palma de Mallorca, April 8, 2012. (AFP)

Spain's main political forces, the ruling Popular Party and opposition Socialists, back Felipe's succession however and are expected to speed it through parliament, with the new king likely to be sworn in on June 19.

Spain's Crown Prince Felipe (R) and his daughter Leonor leave Palma de Mallorca's cathedral after the traditional Mass of Resurrection, March 31, 2013. (AFP)

Felipe will then have to win over Spaniards fed up at corruption scandals and two recessions.

For that, the new heiress could be one of his biggest assets.

(AFP)

"Whenever the infantas Leonor and Sofia appear in public, they win the affection of the people. They are very pretty girls and seem very well brought up," Apezarena said.

(AFP)

"We are going to be seeing a lot more of those images from now on, and they are going to help the new king to win over the people."