Leonor, Princess of Asturias and heir to the throne of Spain, reaches the age of majority this Tuesday and swears in the Spanish Constitution in the Congress of Deputies. The act is an essential condition for Leonor to succeed Felipe VI. From this day on, the princess can be proclaimed queen at any time, if necessary to replace Felipe VI.
Leonor repeats the steps of her father, Felipe VI, who on January 30, 1986 swore the Constitution in an act created especially for the occasion. Before that moment, no monarch or heir had taken an oath to the Constitution that was created in 1978, after the end of the dictatorship.
“This is a very important act, because it represents the continuity of the Monarchy and the commitment of the Monarchy to the Constitution and the parliamentary regime that we have,” explains Professor of Contemporary History Ángeles Egido.
When she takes the throne, Leonor will be the first queen of Spain in more than 120 years. A circumstance that, although inevitable, helps to modernize the institution. “That a woman is the future head of state is a coincidence, but it is good for the future of the Monarchy. It is an example of new times and precisely at this moment, when a very active gender policy is being implemented, which “The heir to the throne being a woman is also a symbol of modernity,” says the historian.
Behind us is a very turbulent period of the Spanish Monarchy, marked by the successive scandals carried out by Juan Carlos I. The monarch’s extramarital affairs and, above all, the accusations of tax crimes – which were filed by the courts due to the status of non- king’s marital -imputability- tarnished the institution.
Juan Carlos I, who earned the appreciation of the Spanish people for his role after the attempted coup d’état of February 23, 1981, a moment in which he positioned himself unequivocally on the side of democracy, saw his prestige disappear and his image dragged down. . with him from the institution.
“The Monarchy of Felipe VI was aware that King Juan Carlos I had squandered the emotional assets acquired after 23-F. Especially in fiscal matters, because it is something that concerns all Spaniards, which we all have to comply with, regardless of the situation of each one”. condition,” Egido recalls. “And that is why he undertook to separate the current monarchy from the previous one.”
From then on, the figure of Juan Carlos I increasingly disappeared from the official acts of the royal family. Today, the king emeritus lives in Abu Dhabi and comes to Spain on very few occasions. This Tuesday, Juan Carlos I will not be present at any of the official events and will only participate in the family dinner to celebrate the birthday of his granddaughter. “The fact of not being present at official events responds to this policy that the current royal family has been adopting, which knows that it needs to legitimize its own path,” insists the historian.
Absences in Congress
Also absent, but due to their tense relations with the Crown, are the Catalan and Basque independentists, the Galician nationalists, as well as the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, and the president of the Basque Government, Iñigo Urkullu. The two Podemos ministers, Ione Belarra and Irene Montero, and the Esquerda Unida minister, Alberto Garzón, will also not be present.
Some of these groups have been calling for a referendum on the Monarchy for some time, an issue that, according to the historian, should not be addressed yet. “In History we can never predict the future, but for now, the Monarchy is a symbol of stability and continuity and I do not believe that the Monarchy/Republic debate, which is always latent, will resurface in the coming years. future “, Explain.
“Spain has bigger problems right now. Maybe in the future there will be a referendum on the form of government but I don’t think that will happen for now… and if that’s the case, I think the majority option,” today, would be monarchical”, considers Egido.
Oath and speech
The event begins at 11:00 a.m. Spanish time, and a huge security device has been arranged, with more than 900 National Police officers, so that everything goes off without incident. The royal family will travel from the official residence, in the Zarzuela Palace, to Congress escorted by the Motorcycle section of the Royal Guard. The last section of the route will be covered by the Royal Escort Squadron and a representation of the Army, the Navy and the Civil Guard.
Once in Congress, the royal family will be received by the acting President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. After a protocol of greetings, the princess will enter the chamber to swear in the Constitution, after a brief speech by the president of Congress, Francina Armengol. The princess will take the oath on the same copy of the Constitution that her father, Felipe VI, swore in in 1986.
After the oath, the royal family will go to the Royal Palace, in the center of Madrid, escorted on horseback by the Royal Escort Squadron, and it is there where the princess will give a speech, after receiving the necklace from Charles III.
This act culminates one of the heir’s most important years on the throne. In addition to reaching the age of majority, Leonor began her military training and, at the beginning of October, she took the oath of allegiance. Now, with the oath of the Constitution, Leonor takes a decisive step to one day occupy the Spanish throne.
*News updated at 9:22 am
Source: TSF
