About to finish her military training, Princess Leonor has become the protagonist of Armed Forces Day (Difas), which was celebrated this Saturday in Vigo with a parade that was marred by the accidental fall of the Spanish flag from the mast where it had been hoisted and the suspension, due to bad weather, of the aerial parade. It is the first time that, alongside the Kings, the heir attends the military celebration and her presence was meant to certify her commitment and belonging to the armed forces.
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During the toast at the reception held after the parade, the King praised “the effort and brilliance” of the Princess of Asturias’s military career and said he felt proud as a father. “As supreme commander of the armed forces, we’ll see,” the King added jokingly. After her time at the Zaragoza General Military Academy and the Marín Naval School, Leonor will complete, next July, at the San Javier General Air Academy, her passage through the three branches of the military, before starting her university studies in October.
The Kings and the heir princess had arrived at the height of the stand, located on Samil Avenue, at the level of Constitución, minutes after noon and were received by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the Chief of the Defense Staff (Jemad), General Admiral Teodoro López Calderón, and then greeted the authorities present, including the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, and the Mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero. After receiving the reports from the Honor Battalion Chief, Felipe VI, in the uniform of captain general of the Army, he reviewed the formation.
Princess Leonor wore the 4th Air Force Ensign dress uniform, on which she wore a rokiski, the emblem that confirms she has passed the parachuting course she took at the Alcantarilla Air Base (Murcia) and that, in theory, also marked her first jump. Neither her father, Felipe VI, nor her grandfather, Juan Carlos I, took the course, nor, consequently, parachuted, so Leonor has become the first member of the royal family, as well as the first woman, to parachute.
The flag hoisting, while the national anthem was played and the honorary salutes were fired, was accident-prone, as once at the top of the mast, it fell again, being caught before it touched the ground, which caused a look of displeasure from the King. While it was decided not to hoist the flag again due to the technical problems it presented and the consequent delay it would cause in the celebration, the customary tribute to those who died in the line of duty took place, with the background performance of the composition Death is not the end, which was sung by the King and the Princess of Asturias, who later made the offering of a laurel wreath in memory of the deceased.
Before the start of the parade, the King, with a firm gesture, stopped the formation to order that the flag carried by a member of the Royal Guard honor battalion be placed next to the mast to preside over the parade. Once finished, members of the Royal Guard returned to the scene to remove the banner that had been kept next to the mast carried by a royal guard.
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Bad weather, especially fog, prevented both the traditional jump of two members of the Air and Space Force Parachuting Aerobatic Patrol (PAPEA), as well as the aerial parade in which the Mirlo Formation was to participate, which, along with other aircraft and helicopters, were initially responsible for opening and closing the celebration. In the ground parade, which took place along Samil Avenue (Vigo), 3,746 members of the Royal Guard, Army, Navy, Air and Space Force, Civil Guard, and Military Emergency Unit participated.
King’s toast for the parachuting princess
After the parade, a reception was held where the King made a toast to the “effort and brilliance” of Princess Leonor during her military training. As a father and as supreme commander of the Armed Forces, he confirmed that recently Leonor has added to her status as an ensign student the title of “parachute hunter,” hence the emblem she wore on her uniform during the day. It will be next year when, together with her classmates, the Princess of Asturias will receive the rank of lieutenant and be able to wear the pilot emblem.
“It is an important anecdote because it closes a training cycle after these three years that she has completed with great effort and brilliance. I am not the one who should say it, but as a father I can say it… And as supreme commander, we’ll see,” the King said jokingly and amid the laughter of those present. Felipe VI congratulated the princess because it is clear that she has “enjoyed” the military training, something that “makes me very happy” and especially on a day like this Saturday, when Princess Leonor attended for the first time alongside the Kings the parade held on the occasion of Armed Forces Day.
The King ended the toast with words dedicated to the members of the Armed Forces and the Civil Guard, “men and women at the service of Spain in so many places around the world. For you, for your families, who must be remembered, who miss you and support you. And for all those who have joined us to celebrate the Armed Forces. All together, for what unites us most, for Spain,” he concluded.
Armed Forces Day (Difas) has been celebrated in Spain since 1978 as an institutional act intended to pay tribute to the Armies and the Navy, with the aim of promoting knowledge and integration of the military establishment in society. Every year, Difas is commemorated on the Saturday closest to May 30, a date that coincides with the feast of Saint Ferdinand, patron of the army engineers corps.
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