Royal Profile:Felipe, Prince of Asturias

Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos (aka Felipe, Prince of Asturias) is the only son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain on 30 January 1968, in Madrid, Spain, as the only son and middle child. He was named for:
  • Felipe: No idea?
  • Juan: His paternal grandfather
  • Pablo (aka Paul): His maternal grandfather
  • Alfonso: His paternal great-grandfather
  • Todos los Santos: a traditional Bourbon name


 At his birth, since his father was not yet King nor he heir apparent, he was titled Infante of Spain. Upon his father's succession when he was seven years old, he became His Royal Highness The Prince of Austrias. He swore allegiance to the Constitution and to the King in the Spanish Parliament, fully accepting his institutional role as successor to the Crown on his 18th birthday on 30 January 1986.

Felipe started school at Santa Maria de los Rosales (the same institution now attended by his daughter, Leonor). For his high school, he attended Lakefield College School in Ontario, Canada, and studied in the Autonomous University of Madrid, where he earned a degree in Law. He also took several courses in economics, and earned Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. During his days at the Georgetown, his maternal cousin, Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece was his roommate.


The future King of Spain is an avid sportstman. He participated in the Summer Olympics in 1992, when they were held is Barcelona where he participated in the Sailing event and served as the Spanish team's flag bearer.


After several years of being in the european tabloids being linked with numerous women, he settled down and married at the age of 36 to divorced former CNN Jornalist Letizia Ortiz on 22 May 2004. She gave birth to the couple first child, Infanta Leonor on 31 October 2005 at 2.35 am. Another daughter, Infanta Sofia (named for her paternal grandmother), came along on 29 April 2007 at 16.50 pm.


Prince Felipe has numerous godchildren. These children include:
  • Prince Ernst August of Hanover, son of prince Ernst August of Hanover (1983)
  • Prince Konstantinos-Alexios of Greece, son of Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece (1998)
  • Princess Sofia of Bulgaria, daughter of Prince Konstantin of Bulgaria (1999)
  • Don Miguel Urdangarín y de Borbón, son of his sister infanta Cristina (2002)
  • Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, daughter of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (2004)'
  • Luis Felipe Gómez-Acebo y Ponte, the son of his cousin, Beltrán (son of Infanta Pilar) (2005)
  • Prince Vincent of Denmark, second son of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark (2011)


After the 11 March 2004, Madrid bombings, Felipe, along with his sisters Elena and Cristina, became the first members of the Spanish royal family ever to take part in a public protest.

In addition to his official activities, Felipe is Honorary President of several associations and foundations including: The Imperial Munitions Board, and the Spanish branch of the Association of European Journalists. 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.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Royal Profile: Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim of Jordan

Royal Profile: Prince Constantin d'Orléans

Royal Profile: Royal Twins