At twenty years old, Princess Leonor has circumnavigated the world aboard a sailing yacht, has piloted a fighter jet, and has skydived. But today she faces another, very different challenge: the start of her university phase. From eight o’clock this morning, the eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science at the Carlos III University of Madrid. The program is set to last four years.
Leonor’s first day of classes on the Getafe campus generated immense anticipation and a notable media frenzy. Photographers were only able to capture images of the princess’s arrival up to the door of the Faculty of Political Science in order to safeguard academic activity and the privacy of the other students.
The princess’s arrival occurred shortly before nine in the morning. The heir to the Spanish throne chose for her first day a casual look comprised of a simple white shirt, dark jeans, and white sneakers. An appearance that did not clash with the rest of the students in her faculty.
Amid shouts of “beautiful!”, cheers and applause, Princess Leonor was welcomed by a welcome committee headed by Ángel Arias, rector of the Carlos III University. The committee also included the Vice-Rector for Students, Pilar Otero; the Dean of the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Antonio Descalzo González; and the Vice-Dean of Political Science, Gema García Albacete.
The welcome committee for Princess Leonor.
In a brief message addressed to the media covering this historic day, the rector stated that Princess Leonor faces this stage “with excitement, calm and a desire to begin.” According to Ángel Arias, the first day of classes “will be as normal as possible, just as it is for other students. There will be an introduction by the vice-dean and afterward her first class will be in Theory of Law.”
Princess Leonor, a student like any other
After completing three years of rigorous military training, Princess Leonor now shifts from the military discipline to classrooms, exams, assignments, and new non-uniform classmates. She will now have to balance her new academic life with her official schedule as Princess of Asturias. To this end, a protocol has been established to strike a balance between normality and security.
Great media frenzy surrounding Leonor’s arrival.
That first day, according to university sources, classes were devoted to presenting the Political Science degree, focused on access to public administration and political analysis. Room 9.1.04 at the Getafe campus was the princess’s first destination in this new university phase.
Carlos III University already has a strict internal rule that prohibits mobile phones in classrooms. The Students’ Good Practice Guide (approved in 2012) requires turning off all electronic devices upon entering class. A protocol that will also serve to prevent other students from using their phones to take photos, record videos or audio of Princess Leonor.
Leonor, on her first day of class.
From the campus administration’s side, faculty have been urged to maintain absolute normality in daily interactions with Leonor. Zarzuela also intends that the heir to the throne enjoys as normal an academic experience as possible, despite the mandatory protective arrangement. It is anticipated that she will have two young bodyguards who will try to blend in as much as possible.
Key Dates in Leonor’s University Timeline
Alongside the rest of the more than 4,000 students who started the same day as her in the first year at this public university across its various campuses, Leonor already knows the calendar and the subjects of her degree. Among them are Constitutional and Administrative Law, History and Political Theory, Sociology, Humanities, Spanish, European and Global Politics, Public Administration and Management.
Princess Leonor greets the media with a smile on her first day of class.
First comes the sequence of welcome days, designed to facilitate the integration of new students. The initial stretch of classes will end on December 11, and the official period of ordinary exams for the first block, before the Christmas break, will take place from December 16 to 22.
After classes resume and following the Easter holidays, May 7 will mark the final conclusion of the mandatory teaching periods in classrooms. From May 11 to May 28 there will be the ordinary session of final exams for the second semester. And from June 14 to June 30 there will be an extraordinary period of recovery exams for pending subjects before the academic year ends.
