On Wednesday, the Princess of Asturias and her sister, Infanta Sofía, had their first joint engagement without the King and Queen. The event was supposed to take place on the 5th of June, but bad weather delayed the event.
The royal sisters planted trees in the natural reserve of Hayedo de Montejo, Madrid, accompanied by about 35 other teenagers, mainly between the ages of 14 and 16.
The event was part of the initiatives made in honour of World Environment Day, and in the context of the program “A tree for Europe”, launched by the European Union to mark the occasion.
Dressed in white t-shirts, blue jeans and hiking boots, the two sisters were also seen sporting the campaign’s pin on their chests.
After a short class on the environment and the task at hand, the two royals joined a group of six teenagers each and were both in charge of planting a tree in a pit already excavated in the ground and holding it in place while their group mates poured soil in the hole and watered the plant.
The entire time, both Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofía appeared very much at ease amongst their peers, and it was clear even under their face masks that they were smiling.
This is the first time the two sisters have taken part in an official engagement together without their parents and the first time for Infanta Sofía. Princess Leonor took part in her first solo royal engagement on the 24th of March when she visited the Cervantes Institute in Madrid to deposit two books in their vault (the copy of the Constitution from which she read the first article in what was considered her first public speech, and the copy of the Don Quijote she and her sister read from for a video message during the first few months of lockdown) and hear the impact the pandemic had on the institution and its goal of spreading Spanish culture around the world.
Infanta Sofía has been one of Princess Leonor’s most constant supporters, having participated in all engagements the heir to the Spanish throne took part in prior to March.
Both girls have been kept mostly out of the spotlight for most of their childhood, with only sparse occasions during the year in which they were seen publicly. However, everything changed a few weeks before King Juan Carlos announced his plans to abdicate – then-Infantas Leonor and Sofía were seen accompanying their parents in a military act for the first time ever. And since their parents ascended to the throne, their presence in public events has only grown. They are now a certain presence in several key acts in the Spanish agenda, like the National Day military parade or the Princess of Asturias Award celebrations.
We firstly heard Infanta Sofía speak publicly in a series of videos released to celebrate King Felipe and Queen Letizia’s first year on the throne, and then in the video message the girls recorded in April of 2020 to show solidarity to their peers during the first month of lockdown.
This event is the next step in their royal education process and will likely be one of the last public acts we are going to see Princess Leonor take part in before she is set to head to school in Wales in the autumn. Meanwhile her sister will stay in Madrid, and it looks pretty likely that the two sisters will miss each other, seen the close bond they appear to share.
