It was a really big day for King Felipe and Queen Letizia on Saturday. Their elder daughter, the heiress of the Spanish Throne, Princess of Asturias Leonore made her debut at the annual Princess of Asturias Foundation awards in Oviedo.
Their younger daughter Infanta Sofia and Queen Sofia were also present at the ceremony.
The Princess de Asturias Awards ceremony is the main activity carried out by the Princess of Asturias Foundation, a private non-profit institution, whose objectives are to contribute to the exaltation and promotion of how many scientific, cultural and humanistic values are universal heritage and consolidate the links between the Principality of Asturias and the title traditionally held by the heirs of the Crown of Spain.
King Felipe has been Honorary President of the Foundation since its creation in 1980. After his proclamation as King of Spain on June 19, 2014, the Princess of Asturias holds the Presidency of Honor of this institution. Destined to distinguish the scientific, technical, cultural, social and humanitarian work carried out by people, institutions, groups of people or institutions in the international arena, these awards are awarded in eight categories: Arts, Letters, Social Sciences, Communication and Humanities, Scientific and Technical Research, International Cooperation, Concord and Sports.
The ceremony that is traditionally held at the Campoamor Theater in Oviedo is considered one of the most important cultural events on the international agenda. Throughout their history, these awards have received different recognitions, such as the extraordinary declaration that UNESCO made in 2004 for its exceptional contribution to the cultural heritage of Humanity.
Usually, the awards are presented to the winners by the King and Queen but this time it was Princess Leonore who took the centre stage.
The event started with the recitation of the National Anthem.
Then King Felipe stood beside his heiress and saw her presenting the honours of the day.
Then Princess Leonore presented the awards to the winners of this year who were: Peter Brook – Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts 2019, Museo Nacional del Prado – Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities, Salman Khan and the Khan Academy- Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation, Lindsey Vonn – Princess of Asturias Award for Sports, Siri Hustvedt – Princess of Asturias Award for Letters, Alejandro Portes – Princess of Asturias Award for Social Sciences, Joanne Chory and Sandra Myrna Díaz – Princess of Asturias Award for Scientific and Technical Research, City of Gdansk – Princess of Asturias Award for Concord.
After the award presentation, Princess Leonore gave her first speech at the awards. It was a proud moment for every single member of the family.
A lovely Twitter user shared this translated picture of Leonore’s speech. There were many heart-touching remarks in her speech,
my parents have always spoken to my sister, Infanta Sofía, and me of Asturias, about her culture, history and traditions.
Asturias is also the land of my mother, the Queen. I carry Asturian blood.
the land that It gives its name to the title that I hold as Crown Heiress, just as my father, the King, did for so many years. And I do it responsibly; I feel very honored with it.
Thank you for working to preserve nature and reduce injustices, discrimination, poverty and disease. We are here to pay tribute. Your works remind us that there are millions of people who think and act to make the world better.
Felipe and Letizia congratulated their daughter on her first milestone as the royal.
Infanta Sofia was equally beaming with a smile.
Not just Felipe and Letizia but Leonore’s grandmother Queen Sofia was looking so proud of her granddaughter after her wonderful speech.
A video of Leonore’s Speech.
After Leonore, King Felipe addressed the gathering. In reference to his daughter, Leonor, King said,
“the obligation to serve Spain and the Spaniards must be the greatest pride and maximum honour you can achieve Your duty will always be to act with hopeful courage, growing in responsibility, in kindness, and in exemplarity, “underlining that” this ceremony, so full of emotion and noble feelings that come alive every year, is, above all, a tribute and tribute to the exemplarity”
At the end of the ceremony, the royal family stood for a group photograph.
The day concluded with happy and proud smiles.
Coming to the sartorial details – Queen Letizia who usually brings the best of Spanish fashion to this event, this time wore a stunning yet understated outfit to keep the attention away from her style choices. The red midi dress featured a vee-neckline with a half sleeves. It has a sash at the waistline embellished with rrhinestones and pleated midi-length skirt.
Letizia paired the outfit with her Lodi Debra pumps.
Queen was carrying a silver jewelled clutch that is an old piece from her wardrobe.
The dazzling element of her today’s look was the statement oval-shaped diamond and ruby earrings. The earrings feature two oval-shaped rubies surrounded by two rows of pavé diamonds.
Letizia was also wearing her Karen Hallem ring.
