Leonor, in the spotlight: a complicated date and a lackluster coming of age

The princess eleano is back in the spotlight. He will reach the desired age of majority on October 31 next year; a date on which she would have to take an oath as heir to the Crown before the Cortes Generales, fulfilling the constitutional mandate and thus accepting her role as heir apparent in a democracy. “I swear to perform my duties faithfully, to uphold and enforce the Constitution and the laws, to respect the rights of citizens and autonomous communities and to remain faithful to the King,” were the words of his predecessor, Prince Felipe at the time. , said afterwards. Turning 18 on January 30, 1986.

As planned, October 31, 2023 should be the date for Princess Leonor to take the same oath in court that her father solemnly read more than 35 years ago. However, the end of the current socialist legislature headed by Pedro Sánchez will coincide in time with the 18th birthday of the Princess of Asturias, making it difficult for this traditional family act to take place on this very special date for Leonor. . As published by the newspaper The world, the current prime minister intends to exhaust his tenure to the end. If his prediction comes true and Pedro Sánchez manages to meet all the deadlines; the legislature would not end until November 10, 2023, so elections would be convened from October 16, and the chambers would have already been dissolved by the date the heir to the throne turns 18.

The fact that the Cortes are being disbanded over the call for new general elections would force Princess Leonor to swear the constitution in front of the permanent congressional delegation, a detail that would detract from the solemnity of this important act. Therefore, from La Moncloa, they do not want the heiress to the throne to take this oath on the day she comes of age, and Pedro Sánchez believes that the Royal House will agree to his initiative to change the date; Therefore, the government and Zarzuela will negotiate on this matter to try to fix the most appropriate date for this important act in Leonor’s life.

In Title II of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, it collects the oath that the king and his heir or heiress must take through two articles. Article 61.1 states that “the King, after being proclaimed before the Cortes Generales, shall take an oath to perform his functions faithfully, to uphold and enforce the Constitution and the laws, and to protect the rights of the citizens and the Autonomous Communities. to respect.” For its part, it can be read in Article 61.2 that “the crown prince, on reaching the age of majority, and the regent or regents on taking over their functions, shall take the same oath as that of loyalty to the king”. From the aforementioned newspaper, they assure that Pedro Sánchez confirmed a few days ago in an informal conversation during his tour of the Balkans that the oath “does not have to be on the same day”.

The president of the government believes it is not appropriate for Leonor to take this important oath before the Permanent Council; so according to him this should be postponed for a few months. Elections are scheduled for December, so Princess Leonor would have to wait until early 2024 to swear the constitution, by which time the new Cortes Generales would have already been formed. And it is that, the law states that this will not happen until 25 days have passed since the general election was held.

For now, Princess Leonor in Palma de Mallorca remains ignorant of all this information; enjoy his first hours on the famous Balearic island with his parents and the infanta Sofía. The heiress to the throne is expected to take the King and Queen and her sister to the Cartuja de Valldemossa this Monday to give a tour of one of the island’s most touristy spots. Felipe and Letizia have chosen this emblematic place to host the first family inn of their new summer season in Mallorca.