Infanta Leonor of Spain
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 A photo of the Infanta Leonor with her parents, in honor of her first birthday. |
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| Born | October 31, 2005 (age 1) Madrid, Spain |
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| Title | Infanta of Spain |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Parents | Felipe, Prince of Asturias and Letizia, Princess of Asturias |
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|} The Infanta Leonor of Spain (Leonor de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz), in English: Eleanor of All The Saints of Bourbon and Ortiz, born 31 October 2005, in Madrid, is the first child of Felipe, the Prince of Asturias and his wife Princess Letizia, and thus second in the line of succession to the Spanish throne after her father. As the daughter of the heir to the throne, she is styled and title Her Royal Highness, Infanta of Spain. It was announced on 25 September 2006, that the couple is expecting their second child in May 2007.
Her birth has sparked discussion of a revision of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 to abolish the precedence of male heirs over their older sisters. In this case, she could become heir apparent when her father is king, and would then in all likelihood become Queen Eleanor (Leonor) I of Spain (except for Navarre, where she would be Eleanor II - there was a queen Eleanor in the 15th century).
She was born at 1:46 am in the Ruber International Clinic in Madrid by means of a caesarean section necessitated by non-progression of labour. Infanta Leonor weighed 3.5 kg and was 47 cm long. Her birth was announced by the Royal Family to the press via SMS. Leonor left the Ruber Clinic with her parents on 7 November 2005.
The Infanta was baptised in the Zarzuela Palace by the Archbishop of Madrid, Antonio Cardinal Rouco Varela, on 14 January 2006. Like her father in 1968, Leonor was baptised with water from the river Jordan, following the Spanish Royal Family tradition. She was also given the additional names of de Todos los Santos (of All the Saints), a Bourbon tradition. Her godparents were, Their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain.
The Spanish Royal House confirmed on February 25, 2006 that stem cells from Princess Leonor's umbilical cord have been frozen and stored at a blood bank in Tucson, Arizona. A spokesman said this is "habitual practice" at the clinic where Leonor was born. The stem cells will be frozen for at least 15 years, along with cells from 18,000 other babies around the world. Leonor is not the first royal baby to have her stem cells frozen; Prince Christian of Denmark's stem cells were frozen as well.
| Styles of Infanta Leonor of Spain |
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| Reference style | Her Royal Highness |
| Spoken style | Your Royal Highness |
| Alternative style | Ma'am |
[edit] External links
- Official website of the Spanish Monarchy
- Hello! magazine announcement of the birth
- Spain's new royal makes her first appearance
| Preceded by: Heir Apparent to the Spanish Throne Felipe or the unborn second child of the Prince of Asturias (pending on sex of the child)* |
Line of succession to the Spanish Throne | Succeeded by: Infanta Elena of Spain or the unborn second child of the Prince of Asturias* |
- according to Spanish law, an unborn child bears the same rights and as such is heir, a situation reversed if it isn't born in the end.
