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 His
Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias
His
Royal Highness the Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbon y Grecia, the
third child of Their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, was
born in Madrid on 30 January 1968 in Nuestra Señora de Loreto clinic.
He was baptised with the names of Felipe, Juan, Pablo and Alfonso de
Todos los Santos in memory, respectively, of the first Bourbon King to
reign in Spain, of the Head of the Spanish Royal Household, his paternal
grandfather, of the King of Greece, his maternal grandfather, and of the
former King of Spain, his great-grandfather Alfonso XIII. His godparents
were His Royal Highness the Count of Barcelona, Juan de Borbon, and his
great-grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia.
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Heir
to the Crown since the proclamation of his father as King on 22 November
1975, on 1 November 1977 he received the title of Prince of Asturias
together with the titles of Prince of Girona and Prince of Viana, These are
held by the firstborn of the Kingdoms of Castile, Aragon and Navarre which
came together in the 16th century to form the Spanish monarchy. He also
holds the titles of Duke of Montblanc, Count of Cervera and Lord of
Balaguer.
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 On
30 January 1986, at the age of 18, he swore allegiance to the Constitution
and to the King in the Spanish Parliament, fully accepting his institutional
role as successor to the Crown.
By
Royal Decree 284/2001 of 16 March, HRH the Prince of Asturias's Guidon and
Standard were created. The Decree describes his Coat
of Arms, his Guidon
and his Standard.
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He
studied at kindergarten, primary and secondary levels, at Santa Maria de
los Rosales, a modern school in Madrid which he attended as a day student
until 1984.
He
then spent the equivalent of the university entrance year at Lakefield
College School in Canada.
From
September 1985 to July 1988, His Royal Highness trained at the General
Military Academy in Zaragoza, the Naval School in Marin and the General
Academy of the Air Force in San Javier, and in July 1989 received
despatches as Infantry Lieutenant, Sub-Lieutenant and Lieutenant of the
Air Arm.
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From
October 1988 to June 1993, he studied at the Autonomous University of
Madrid and graduated with a degree in Law. He also studied a number of
subjects from the Economics syllabus in order to round off his training in
that area.
In
September 1993, he enrolled for a Master's degree in International
Relations at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at the University
of Georgetown (Washington DC), graduating on 26 May 1995.
The
ranks he holds in the Spanish Armed Forces today are those of Commander of
the General Land Army Corps (Infantry), Lieutenant Commander in the
General Navy and Commander of the General Air Force. He is also a
helicopter pilot, qualified for instrument flight in Air Force Squadron
402. He has his Helicopter Pilot's Wings for both the Land Army and the
Navy.
From
September 1999 to June 2000, he attended a refresher course in Security
and Defence.
In
September 1993, he enrolled for a Master's degree in International
Relations at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at the University
of Georgetown (Washington DC), graduating on 26 May 1995.
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His
activities in Spain and abroad
Since
completing his academic studies in the United States, Prince Felipe has
fulfilled his institutional commitments in his capacity as Heir to the
Crown, chaired many official events in Spain and participated in key events
in different sectors and aspects of Spanish public life.
(Plaza Mayor de Albarracín, Teruel, d. 6. june 2000)
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Since
October 1995, he has made a series of official
visits to the Spanish Autonomous Communities with a view to gaining
in-depth knowledge of Spain and making contact with other Spaniards.
He
holds regular meetings with constitutional bodies and the main State
institutions in order to keep in touch with their activities. He also
attends meetings of the various bodies of the Central Administration and of
the Autonomous Communities as required by his national and international
institutional activities.
He
grants public and private audiences to a large number of people with a view
to receiving up-to-date information on national and international affairs.
In particular, he holds meetings with people close to his own generation
with outstanding careers in political, economic, cultural and media circles.
When
HM the King is unable to attend, he presides over the annual presentation of
despatches to Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the Armed Forces,
and participates in military exercises held by the three Services.
(Kreml-palace in Moskva, 2002)
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He
has made many official
visits to European countries and to Latin America as well as to
countries in the Arab world, the Far East and Australasia. He shows special
interest in all matters related to the European Union, the Middle East,
North Africa and Latin America.
Since
January 1996, the Prince of Asturias has represented the Spanish State at
the swearing-in
ceremonies for Latin American Presidents.
He
has also played a very active role in the promotion of Spain's economic and
commercial interests and of Spanish language and culture in foreign
countries. He frequently presides at economic and trade fairs held by Spain
abroad (Expotecnia, Expoconsumo and Expohabitat) and is especially
interested in promoting the creation of Centres and University Chairs to
disseminate the history and current situation of Spain in the main foreign
universities.
(Oviedo, 26. october 2001)
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(Estadio Olímpico de Montjuic, Barcelona, d. 25. july 1992)
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In
addition to his official activities, Prince Felipe is Honorary President of
several Associations and Foundations, such as the Codespa Foundation, which
finances specific economic and social development activities in
Ibero-America and other countries, and the Spanish branch of the Association
of European Journalists, which is composed of outstanding communications
professionals. Most noteworthy is the Príncipe
de Asturias Foundation , where he presides annually the Awards ceremony
of these highly prestigious Awards, at the international level, that carry
his name.
Within
the framework of these institutions which work towards aims of general
interest, he focuses his interest on activities in the fields of development
projects, voluntary work, the environment, universities, the integration of
young people in the workplace and business, relations between business
circles and society and social communication.
On
the occasion of the United Nations declaration of 2001 as the International
Year of Volunteers, the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, named Prince
Felipe an "Eminent
Person" so
that he could contribute on an international level towards enhancing the
importance of voluntary workers.
A
keen sportsman, he was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team in the
Soling class in the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, finishing in sixth
position and obtaining an Olympic Diploma. During the opening ceremony, he
paraded with the Spanish flag at the head of the Spanish team.
On
the 1 November 2003, Their Majesties the King and Queen announced the
engagement of their son and heir apparent, H.R.H. The Prince of Asturias, to
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, solemnised at the Cathedral of Madrid "Santa
María la Real de la Almudena", on the 22 May 2004. They have a
daughter, Leonor, born on 31th October 2005 in Madrid.
Source:
Official site of the Royal Household of HM the King
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