Royal Central - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
UWC Atlantic, in Wales, has hosted a mini Royal reunion, as Spain’s Princess Leonor and the Netherlands’ Princess Alexia ended their two years stay at the College with the traditional Leavers celebration.
The heir to the Spanish throne was joined by her parents, King Felipe and Queen Letizia, as well as her younger sister, Infanta Sofía, who will be starting her own experience at UWC Atlantic at the end of August.
Meanwhile, the Dutch Princess was accompanied by her father, King Willem-Alexander, and her mother, Queen Máxima. However, her sisters remained in the Netherlands, as the school term is not over for either of them.
The Spanish Royal household released a short video and plenty of photographs on their Twitter account, including a video of the moment Princess Leonor received her diploma from the hands of her teachers and dean, while her tutor offered a few words about her.
She said: “Leonor, your love of meaningful conversations knows no bounds. Your unwavering passion for learning, understanding people, and exploring diverse perspectives has truly enriched your UWC experience. We will miss your humour.”
CasaReal also posted on Twitter a selfie that Queen Letizia took of the entire family, in which the four Royals can be seen smiling, clearly happy about being together again and the experience that the Princess had in Wales.
Much less is known about Princess Alexia’s graduation, as the Dutch Royal Household only released a photograph of the Princess, dressed in a white linen suit, with her parents on the grounds of the College.
The caption of the picture also states that the results of the exams will be published in early July, meaning that the pupils graduated but don’t know how their exams went yet.
The Dutch Royal household has not disclosed what awaits in the future for Princess Alexia, whether or not she will take a sabbatical year like her older sister did or if she will go straight into university.
As for Princess Leonor, she is expected to return to Spain to undertake several engagements (including the Princess of Girona Awards at the beginning of July) before shipping off to the Army base in Zaragoza in mid-August to begin her three years of military training.
This means that when September rolls around, King Felipe and Queen Letizia will be empty nesters. As for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, they will still have their older daughter at home; Princess Catharina-Amalia couldn’t move to Amsterdam to attend university as was originally planned due to the severe threats against her. Princess Ariane, meanwhile, will move away from home, as she will go study at UWC Adriatic, in the north of Italy.