The happy coincidence in time of the celebration -austere, as everything in him- of the tenth anniversary of the proclamation of Felipe VI as King of Spain and of the culmination in the General Military Academy of the first year of military training of Doña Leonor, makes this a propitious moment to advance some ideas about the Crown as an institution but, mainly, about the Princess of Asturias and her relationship with the Armed Forces.

After nearly fifty years of the Spanish Constitution, approved by a majority of the Spanish Parliament and massively endorsed by the citizens in a referendum, it is both embarrassing and discouraging to have to explain the democratic impeccability of the credentials of the form of State that the Spaniards, by popular will, decided to give us and, therefore, of Don Felipe, holder of the Crown and living, active and effective symbol of the nation. Only those who, blind and deaf to any rational argument, do not want to do so, are incapable of understanding and recognizing the legitimacy that the Monarchy enjoys by virtue of the fact that it is enshrined in a Magna Carta such as ours. The stability granted by the foreseen and foreseeable monarchical succession to a country like Spain, and the consideration of the alternatives, sometimes disturbing, are more than enough reasons to, at least, think about the rationality of this form of State, if not to embrace it with enthusiasm.

The Princess of Asturias appears, precisely, as the figure destined to occupy a central place in the succession process when, by law of life or abdication, that of Don Felipe is missing. When that happens, doña Leonor will be called, according to article 62 of our Basic Law, to hold the supreme command of the Armed Forces. In addition, and according to the provisions of article 63, she will have the prerogative to declare war, subject to the authorization of the Cortes and under the conditions established by article 97, which grants the Government the direction of domestic and foreign policy, as well as of the Military Administration. Few decisions as difficult and compromising for a monarch as this one, which implies nothing less than exposing the sons of the nation to the possibility of losing their lives in pursuit of a political goal ; such is the nature of war.

These reasons alone would be more than enough to understand the need for the heiress to receive a solid military training to help her understand not only the complexity and consequences inherent to the employment of military force in war, but also the mentality of the soldiers over whom she will exercise her supreme command, their aspirations, their illusions, or their way of life. For the sake of Spain and of constitutional values and principles, it is essential that between the future Queen and her soldiers a solid relationship of respect, understanding, appreciation, and affection be forged that can only be formed by truly becoming one of them; one who shares their same hardships and their same joys, and who speaks an identical language of love and submission to the nation and all that it represents.

But, in addition, the passage of the Princess of Asturias through the Armed Forces is a complete immersion in an institution governed by a demanding code of ethics, which is not exclusive to those who wear uniform, but that the military institution genuinely strives to live every day, even among mistakes and weaknesses.

It is often said that the Armed Forces are a school of values, and they certainly are. Doña Leonor's exhibition to effort, companionship, honesty, austerity, spirit of sacrifice and service, order, self-discipline, fortitude -in its physical and moral dimensions-, justice, or the exercise of prudence, reinforcing the values she has learned and learns every day from her parents, is of an importance that cannot and should not be underestimated, and will constitute a baggage that will make her a better Queen when the time comes for her to become the first soldier of Spain.

This is no small demand for a girl of barely eighteen, even though, for the good of the Crown and, above all, of Spain, she has already demonstrated a sense of responsibility and a commitment to the high role that awaits her -full of sacrifice and submission, where others only see privileges- truly A for a person of her generation and age. The traits we are seeing in her allow us to look to the future with optimism and peace of mind.