The moment is inevitable: sooner or later, Leonor de Borbón will shoulder all the responsibility of presiding over the Princess of Asturias Awards, the honors that bear her name and to which she has attended since she was 12 years old. Until now, it has been King Felipe who has carried the weight of the Crown’s official agenda in Oviedo, something he has been doing since he was 18. In fact, since his daughter turned 18 there have been rumors that her moment of solo prominence is imminent.
Against all odds, it seems that 2025 will not be the edition of the Princess of Asturias Awards in which Leonor assumes all presidential duties on her own either. There were rumors that this year she would not only dictate the closing speech of the awards in place of her father, but that the Kings would no longer attend Oviedo. In fact, it was clarified that Infanta Sofia would indeed attend, at least to accompany her on the traditional visit to the Exemplary Town.
According to digital media such as Monarquía confidencial, none of this will happen this year, although surely we will already be seeing how Princess Leonor gradually adds responsibility and solo acts to the Princess of Asturias Awards agenda. The truth is that it is hard to visualize awards where Queen Letizia is not present, Asturian by birth and for whom Asturians feel adoration.
That said, the truth is that Leonor de Borbón’s role in the Princess of Asturias Awards is on the table, logical if we consider that the heiress is entering the final stretch of her military training and, surely, from here on she will be able to focus on tasks of proper representation. The eldest daughter of the Kings may not make her big leap in 2025, but the maneuver cannot be stretched much beyond 2026.
The pressure on Leonor at the Princess Awards
This is the central issue in all this tangle: the grandeur of the Princess of Asturias Awards is immense, in line with the intellectual and artistic stature of its laureates. In its favor is her long on-the-ground experience, which has the public’s favor (she plays at home) and which has been giving speeches at the Campoamor Theater since 2019.
Leonor leans on Queen Letizia at the official agenda events of the Princess of Asturias Awards.
This year, the list of awardees at the Princess of Asturias Awards is once again impressive and includes Mario Draghi (International Cooperation), Mary-Claire King (Scientific Research), Serena Williams (Sports), Graciela Iturbide (Arts) or Byung-Chul Han (Humanities). Also the writer Eduardo Mendoza, to whom the kings Felipe and Letizia presented the Cervantes Prize in 2016. He told Vanity Fair, incidentally, that he is aware that Leonor “is a cultured person”, in this field and in others.
There is no doubt about Princess Leonor’s preparation, but there is some caution when it comes to leaving her completely alone in such a demanding schedule, like the Princess of Asturias Awards. This is confirmed by Monarquía confidencial, through sources close to the Royal Household. “In Zarzuela they consider that Leonor is still ‘green’ to act completely solo at a large-scale event: ‘She does not have enough ease to face such an event alone’.”
Leonor: prepared, responsible and sensitive
The diagnosis is clear: Leonor possesses preparation, responsibility and sensitivity, but perhaps not as much ease and presence as the major official duties require. Like many other young people of her generation: the protective relationship from families is stretching further and further. Do not forget that she has been fully dedicated for three years to the highest level of military instruction.
Despite this diagnosis and the understandable backing that King Felipe and Queen Letizia wish to provide their daughter, one can appreciate the person Leonor is today and understand her capable and even suitable in her youthful innocence. This is how actress Meryl Streep saw her, awarded two years ago, in a precious birthday message: “What I would tell Princess Leonor is never lose the girl you were the day before turning eighteen, because that will take you to seventy-four with a lot of energy, curiosity and optimism for the future.”
