Princess Leonor of Spain Set To Begin 3-Year Military Training: 'It's an Essential Step'

Crown Princess Leonor of Spain is getting ready to report for military duty.

The Royal Household of Spain announced in a press release this week that Leonor, 17, will begin three years of military training later this year to prepare for her future role as the country's head of state.

Leonor, who is also known as Her Royal Highness the Princess of Asturias, is the oldest of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia's two daughters. As first in the line to the Bourbon throne, she will become supreme commander of Spain's armed forces when her father steps down from his position or dies.

The royal's training will begin in August after she finishes studying at the UWC Atlantic College in Wales, where she is studying for an International Baccalaureate alongside Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, 17.

Princess Leonor will take part in her first year of training at the Army Military Academy in Zaragoza, before moving on to a naval school, and then finishing her studies at the General Air Academy in Santiago de la Ribera, 280 miles southeast of Madrid.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles spoke about Princess Leonor's upcoming military service.

"In the Cabinet Meeting today, we have approved a royal decree whose aim is to give structure to the military training and career of [Princess Leonor]," Robles said, per CNN.

"It shows that we will have, when the time comes, a supreme commander who is a woman," she continued. "And in recent years, we've made a big effort to incorporate women into the armed forces."

Noting that an heir "has to have a military background and a military career" throughout "all parliamentary monarchies," Robles added, "It's an essential step in the life of Her Royal Highness … toward the leadership of our country."

The Spanish monarchy has faced scrutiny in recent years after King Felipe VI took over from his father, King Juan Carlos I, who abdicated in 2014.

Carlos — who briefly reunited with his family in May after a two-year self-imposed exile amid allegations of tax fraud and money laundering in 2020 — was once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy.