King Felipe confirmed in his speech what the rumors had been demanding already: in the next edition, we will see how Leonor truly exercises the presidency of the Princess of Asturias Awards, if not entirely on her own, almost. Thus, with months to spare, the next stage of the heir, already focused on civil society is announced. If the phase in the Army seemed complex to her, she will discover that what lies ahead is even more difficult. Above all because she still has many facets to refine.
The diagnosis about Leonor’s maturity must be reconsidered after observing her at the last ceremony of the Princess of Asturias Awards, for very significant improvements were noted. Especially in confidence, since the heiress now takes the initiative to guide her grandmother, Queen Sofía, and her sister, Infanta Sofía, evidently uncomfortable with her public duties. Leonor supported her and accompanied her at all times, and even dedicated a tender wink to her in her speech.
The Unconditional Support for Infanta Sofía
It happened while Princess Leonor extolled in her speech the virtues of Serena Williams, awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for Sport. Addressing the tennis player, the heiress said: «It is beautiful what you say about your sister: ‘Without Venus there would have been no Serena’. The sisters who are accomplices are our great allies and travel companions». The statement revealed the efforts to fit Infanta Sofía into the duties of representation and, also, that the little one is the family’s weakness. Upon hearing Leonor, the kings Felipe and Letizia looked at her tenderly.
Infanta Sofía does not yet find a place or style, or, better, with her curious outfits she reveals the disguise she must wear to interpret the role of the infanta. This is not without a sign of normality. Which young person is prepared to move from a more or less normal routine, in jeans and a hoodie, to representing the Crown in a character that has no dialogue or content. Let us admit it: her position is the most thankless in the royal family.
La infanta Sofía escuchó atenta al intérprete que tradujo el discurso del filósofo Byung-Chul Han.
But let us return to Leonor, because she undertook the challenge of delivering the longest speech she has written to date. And she began very well, although precisely due to its length she began to lose energy and focus. From the middle on, she stopped projecting her voice, began to stumble, and her breathing grew strained, as if she were running out of air. Why must her speech at the Princess of Asturias Awards be so long? She will need to exercise diction and vocal cords to face such challenges. But perhaps it is not necessary to subject her to a speech of that length.
Otherwise, the text included a few jokes (she called the King a boomer and the Queen a Generation X and she pitied the interpreters for quoting uncommon words read in the work of the laureate Eduardo Mendoza), although it overwhelmed with a solemnity absolutely understandable: how not to solemnize when speaking about the laureates. All the same, it added to the heavy atmosphere that hovered over the entire ceremony of the Princess of Asturias Awards 2025, partly due to the geopolitical situation in the world, partly due to the presence of the Korean philosopher (but firmly established in Germany) Byung-Chul Han, awarded in the Humanities category.
Leonor battled against the gloom
Han’s diagnosis of the times we live in could not be darker. While she listened, the queen Letizia’s eyes shone as she recognized the importance of such words, pessimistic but true, rising from a podium with so much focus. Leonor, however, wanted to rebel timidly against so much obscurantism by addressing the philosopher directly: “How do we recover, especially for the young, the transcendence so that life is not, as you say, merely the satisfaction of needs?”.
We must empathize with the Leonor generation that resists falling into gloom, without stopping to acknowledge the gravity of the situation facing the planet. We are overflowing with diagnoses, but there is a lack of discussion about solutions. It was at that moment, and not so much in his allusions to the smartphone or the emoticons, when the heiress truly connected with the spirit of her time. And she made the Crown do so as well.
Los reyes Felipe y Letizia no le quitaron ojo a Leonor durante su discurso.
There is an implacable gap, this is an obvious fact, between what Leonor and Sofía represent and the mission of the Princess of Asturias Foundation. If some are prepared to intervene in the future, the Princess of Asturias Awards celebrate the fruits of a lifetime of work. The youth of some and the veteran status of the rest generate anomalies, such as expecting them to bear density and weight and not the awards to lighten their formula. Take note of writer Eduardo Mendoza: his speech, very brief, was also hilarious.
Why there are no memes about the royal family
In this mismatch between Leonor’s youth and the historical solemnity of almost everything surrounding her, analyses such as the one that argues that the Royal House can boast of the success of not having generated a single meme can be justified. In digital life, earning memes or other such creations, however ironic or critical they may be, is a compliment, not mockery or insult. Not starring in a single meme means that a wide segment of the population does not give you the slightest attention.
At the end of the Princess of Asturias Awards ceremony, in the brief journey from the Teatro Campoamor’s stage to the entrance hall, we could see how each member of the royal family responded to their nature. The king, satisfied and smiling, listened to the whispers of his daughters, aware that they were surrounded by cameras. The queen, Letizia, always in command, focused on exchanging views with Marta Carazo, Rosa Lerchundi, and Camilo Villarino, the new key instrumental players of the Royal House. The director of this orchestra is she.
