Spain's Princess Leonor becomes first royal to earn military parachute wings as three-year armed-forces training nears end

Princess Leonor, the 20-year-old heir to the Spanish throne (Princess of Asturias), reached the final and most demanding phase of her three-year military formation during the window. According to Hola! (21 May), she began basic parachute instruction in late May at the Méndez Parada Military Parachuting School in Sangonera la Seca, part of Alcantarilla Air Base in Murcia — a two-week course of ground training, simulated jumps and a required jump from roughly 400 metres.

Spanish outlets reported she became the first member of the Spanish royal family ever to complete military parachute training, a qualification neither her father King Felipe VI nor grandfather Juan Carlos I held; CNN published video of the completed jump dated 2 June. Earlier in the window, The Olive Press (6 May) reported her air-force phase at the General Air and Space Academy (AGA) in San Javier, including observing F-5 fighter operations at Talavera la Real Air Base in Badajoz on 22 April. By July 2026 she is expected to hold ranks as Army and Air Force officer cadet and Navy midshipman, with full commissioning (lieutenant in the Army and Air Force, ensign in the Navy) scheduled for July 2027.

Outlets stressed she trained alongside other cadets without special treatment. After completing her military formation she is set to read Political Science at Carlos III University in Getafe, Madrid. The training arc is widely framed as preparing the future queen for her constitutional role as supreme commander of the armed forces.