Felipe, Prince of Asturias
Prince Felipe, Prince of Asturias (Don Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y de Grecia) born
January 30,
1968), is the third child of
King Juan Carlos and
Queen Sofía of
Spain. As the
Prince of Asturias he is the
heir apparent, meaning he is first in the
line of succession to the
Spanish throne.If Prince Felipe becomes king as expected, he will be known as
King Felipe VI of Spain.
Felipe was born in
Madrid. His birth, after that of his two sisters, the
infantas
Elena and
Cristina, ensured a male successor to the Spanish Throne.
At birth Felipe was given the titles of Prince of Gerona, Prince of Viana, Duke of
Montblanc, Count of Cervera, and Lord of Balaguer.
His full name is His Royal Highness Prince Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso y de la Santísima Trinidad y de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia. The symbolic names given at his
christening including the names of the first
Bourbon to reign in Spain; his grandfathers (
Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona and
Paul of Greece); his great-grandfather King
Alfonso XIII of Spain; and
All Saints (
Todos los Santos) as is customary among the Bourbons.
His godparents were HRH, the Count of Barcelona,
Juan de Borbón, and his great-grandmother,
Queen Victoria Eugenia.
The Prince of Asturias studied in the
Autonoma University of Madrid, where he earned a degree in Law. He also completed several course subjects on Economics. He completed his academic studies by obtaining a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at
Georgetown, where he was the roommate of his cousin,
Pavlos, Prince of Greece. Prince Felipe has fulfilled his institutional commitments in his capacity as Heir to the Crown, chaired many official events in Spain, and participated in key events in different sectors and aspects of Spanish public life.
Since October 1995, he has made a series of official visits to the
Spanish Autonomous Communities with a view to gaining in-depth knowledge of Spain and making contact with other Spaniards.
He holds regular meetings with constitutional bodies and the main state institutions in order to keep in touch with their activities. He also attends meetings of the various bodies of the Central Administration and of the Autonomous Communities as required by his national and international institutional activities.
He grants public and private audiences to a large number of people with a view to receiving up-to-date information on national and international affairs. In particular, he holds meetings with people close to his own generation with outstanding careers in political, economic, cultural and media circles.
When HM the King is unable to attend, he presides over the annual presentation of dispatches to Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Armed Forces and participates in military exercises held by the three services.
He has made many official visits to European countries and to
Latin America, as well as to countries in the
Arab world, the
Far East, and
Australia. He shows special interest in all matters related to the
European Union, the
Middle East,
North Africa, and
Latin America.
Since January 1996, the Prince of Asturias has represented the Spanish State at the swearing-in ceremonies for
Latin American Presidents.
He has also played a very active role in the promotion of Spain's economic and commercial interests and of Spanish language and culture in foreign countries. He frequently presides at economic and trade fairs held by Spain abroad (
Expotecnia,
Expoconsumo, and
Expohabitat), and is especially interested in promoting the creation of Centres and University Chairs to disseminate the history and current situation of Spain in the main foreign universities.
He was a member of the
Olympic sailing team at the
Barcelona Games in
1992, which recalled his mother's position on the Greek sailing team in 1960. He also took part in the opening ceremony as the Spanish team's standard bearer. He finished in sixth position in the Sailing class and obtained an
Olympic Diploma.
On
November 1,
2003 his engagement to
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, an award-winning television journalist formerly of
CNN, was announced. The couple married on the morning of
May 22,
2004 in the
Almudena Cathedral in
Madrid, with members of several European
royal families attending. Ortiz had previously been married to
Alonso Guerrero, a teacher and author; they were divorced in
2002. The wedding was watched by more than 25 million television viewers in Spain alone, and was broadcast throughout the world. Letizia Ortiz then gained the title
HRH The Princess of Asturias, but is often called
Princess Letizia.
On
May 8,
2005, the Spanish Royal House announced that the couple were expecting their first child in November. Princess Letizia gave birth to a girl at 2:35 AM on
October 31,
2005. The newborn Her Royal Highness
Infanta Leonor of Spain is the second in the succession to king Juan Carlos after Prince Felipe, and her birth may lead to a revision of the
Spanish Constitution of 1978 to abolish the precedence of male heirs over their older sisters.
After the
March 11, 2004 Madrid bombings, the Prince, along with the Prince's sisters
Elena and
Cristina, became the first members of the Spanish royal family ever to take part in
a public protest.
In addition to his official activities, Prince Felipe is Honorary President of several Associations and Foundations, such as the Codespa Foundation, which finances specific economic and social development activities in Ibero-America and other countries, and the Spanish branch of the Association of European Journalists, which is composed of outstanding communications professionals. Most noteworthy is the Príncipe de Asturias Foundation, where he presides annually the Awards ceremony of these highly prestigious Awards, at the international level, that carry his name.
Within the framework of these institutions which work towards aims of general interest, he focuses his interest on activities in the fields of development projects, voluntary work,
the environment, universities, the integration of young people in the workplace and business, relations between business circles and society and social communication.
On the occasion of the
United Nations declaration of 2001 as the International Year of Volunteers, the UN
Secretary General,
Kofi Annan, named Prince Felipe an "Eminent Person" so that he could contribute on an international level towards enhancing the importance of voluntary workers.
Felipe has been heir to the throne since the proclamation of his father in
1975. In
1977, Felipe became
Prince of Asturias, the Spanish equivalent of
Prince of Wales.
On
April 21,
1990, he became the first Bourbon to hold the
Catalan title of
Prince of Girona. Formerly no other Bourbon had ever held nor even used this title. He is also titled
Prince of Viana,
Duke of Montblanc,
Count of Cervera and
Lord of Balaguer.
On
30 January 1986, at the age of 18, he swore allegiance to the
Constitution and to the King in the Spanish
Parliament, fully accepting his institutional role as successor to
the Crown.
By Royal Decree 284/2001 of
16 March, HRH the Prince of Asturias's Guidon and Standard were created. The Decree describes his
Coat of Arms, his Guidon and his Standard.
*
Prince of Asturias Awards*
Coat of arms of the Prince of Asturias*
Line of succession to the Spanish Throne*
Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service*
The title of Prince of Asturias (in Spanish)
