After the first day of classes of Princess Leonor at Carlos III University in Madrid, the turn now comes for her sister Sofía to return to the classrooms. In her case, she will be pursuing the second year of Political Science and International Relations, and she will do so a little farther from home: on the Paris campus of Forward College. After a first year in Lisbon, the younger daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia has ahead of her a new opportunity to lead a student life like any other student in the French capital.
The 19-year-old will continue her university studies in the neighboring country with classes scheduled to begin on September 21. But it is planned that Infanta Sofía will arrive in Paris a week earlier to enjoy an adaptation period. Starting on the 14th, the sister of Princess Leonor will participate in a welcome and orientation program. According to Forward College, this includes everything from cooking contests to pétanque tournaments or yoga classes.
It will be the moment to acclimate to her new life in Paris and to discover her 17 m² room, as well as the fellow residents with whom she will share common areas in one of the buildings of the Cité internationale universitaire, located in the 14th arrondissement. A (nearly) normal student life for the infanta, who, as with her sister, will be discreetly followed by several security agents, charged with her physical protection and safeguarding her privacy.
And since the French have not had a monarchy since Emperor Napoleon III was deposed in 1870, the arrival of a royal in Paris has caused a great stir in the country’s society pages. For example, Point de Vue details how Infanta Sofia “has no intention of hiding her identity, since it was precisely with the name Sofía de Borbón y Ortiz that she presented herself for the Forward College entrance tests more than a year ago.”
The French press and the future of Infanta Sofia
«Sofía de España, from the shadow of her sister Leonor to a life far from the palace», headlines, for example, Madame Figaro about the imminent arrival of the Spanish queen. And the Gracia magazine calls her “a princess in Paris”. More in-depth they treat the topic in Gala, where they even interview a British student named Lamar who has already completed the course that the infanta will take. He notes that the classes are “very stimulating, to the point that some debates continue during lunch.”
Infanta Sofía (left) in a Forward College class.
Lamar also emphasizes that life in Paris for Forward College students is not limited to the classroom. Tennis, basketball, wine glasses, dinners with friends, and cultural visits also fill their free time. On weekends, students tend to stay in Paris to cook together or meet at the homes of those living off-campus. Their families can also come to visit them.
In the case of Paris Match, they talk about Infanta Sofía with the founder of Forward College himself, the Frenchman Boris Walbaum. He confesses that “the Royal Household never contacted us and we didn’t notice anything” during the admission process of Felipe and Letizia’s daughter. “Sofía applied to the same interviews as everyone else; she was asked the same questions as others and she did very well.”
This French outlet has also spoken with several of the professors that Infanta Sofía will have this year and who still have to get used to having members of royalty in front of them. “A princess is quite a novelty!”, says Cleo Davies, a professor of politics and international relations on the Paris campus. But there is no reason to feel intimidated, since, according to her Portuguese colleagues, “everything went very well in Lisbon.”
A royal classmate for Sofía
Although she has not yet graduated, the young Spanish woman is already a source of inspiration for her European peers. Last August, her Norwegian counterpart, Prince Sverre Magnus, also announced that he would enroll in the center to study Business Administration. With only five years of existence, Forward College could soon become the new reference university for royalty, accustomed until now to attending centers of international renown such as Cambridge, Stanford or Berkeley.
The son of the kings Haakon and Mette-Marit used the same tactic as Infanta Sofía, presenting himself simply as Sverre Magnus von Glücksburg to follow the same itinerant path across Europe (Lisbon, Paris and Berlin). And although his identity was revealed once both were admitted to the center, they are by no means considered ordinary students. “They told us that the infanta wanted to be treated like any other student,” Boris Walbaum said, determined to have that wish respected.
