Queen Letizia wiped away tears as she watched the navy ship carrying her daughter, Princess Leonor, head out to sea for five months.
King Felipe was also spotted crying as the couple’s first born, and the heir to the throne, set out on a five month stint on board as part of her naval training.
(Casa de S.M. el Rey)
Princess Leonor joined the crew of the ‘Juan Sebastián de Elcano’ several days ago as she and her fellow crew made their final preparations for the long training at sea.
She had taken part in a march through Cadiz with her fellow cadets as they made their way to a service at the Church of the Virgin of Carmen ahead of their departure.
(RTVE still/ fair use)
And with just hours to go before the 19 year old heir set sail, she was filmed taking part in initial training activities including helping with rigging.
On the morning of her departure, January 11th 2025, King Felipe and Queen Letizia joined hundreds of other parents for the final farewell ahead of the long sea training.
(RTVE still/ fair use)
However, as he’s the Head of State and the Head of Spain’s Armed Forces, Felipe VI also had official responsibilities, including speaking to the cadets before their training got fully under eway.
But as the moment of departure approached, the Spanish king and queen became just another mum and dad as the training ship began its journey.
(RTVE still/ fair use)
Queen Letizia waved at her daughter, who was standing with the other cadets on the deck, but within moments she had to wipe away her tears.
At one point, King Felipe put a reassuring arm around his wife’s waist as they watched their daughter depart. He also did what just about every other proud parent was doing and got out his mobile phone to capture his own memories of this special moment.
(RTVE still/ fair use)
Later, he was seen crying himself as the parting hit home.
Speaking to the press, King Felipe said the experience would be ”very good” for his daughter while Queen Letizia said it would be ”many months without seeing her”.
Princess Leonor began a year of naval training in August 2024. It follows a year of training in the army. In the summer of 2025, she will start the last part of her military formation when she spends 12 months with Spain’s air force.
