Leonor will swear in the Constitution at the age of 18 on October 31. She will do it in the Cortes, in a plenary session before the Congress and the Senate. The Princess of Asturias follows, to the millimeter, the same script that she outlined for her father. The then Prince Philip took the oath to the Constitution on the day he came of age, January 30, 1986. 37 years have passed since then. Despite the tracing of the roadmap, we have found differences.
Scenarios, the same
The Princess’s ceremony takes place in two settings: the Congress headquarters, in the Cortes, and the Royal Palace, where she will receive the Collar of the Order of Charles III. The highest powers of the State will attend both events. Just like Felipe de Borbón in 1986. For next Tuesday’s ceremony, a platform has been set up as a stage. This structure will be dressed with the tapestries and carpets of that time. Chairs will also be available to accommodate all deputies and senators in this joint session. So far, the same as 37 years ago. We continue.
The 30 words of the oath and the medals
The heir pronounced the 30 words of the oath and a wave of clicks from the cameras accompanied the historic moment. “I swear to faithfully carry out my duties, to keep and ensure that the Constitution and the laws are kept and to respect the rights of citizens and the autonomous communities and fidelity to the King.” Leonor will pronounce the same formula. As a difference, the eldest daughter of the Kings will receive the medals of the two chambers, from the hands of the presidents of the Congress and the Senate; Later, she will inaugurate the second edition of the Congress Honor Book.
El ‘dress code’
The dress code set for this event, due to its solemnity, would be a long dress for women and a morning suit for men. This was the etiquette that followed in Don Felipe’s swearing in for his birthday. I don’t see Leonor dressed long. The new times may give us other guidelines in the protocol. Better. Don Felipe, on his big day, wore a morning suit, like his father. He was tailor-made. The fact that he was an intern at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza made the adjustment tests prior to the event difficult. That day, he wore his first ceremonial morning coat. He was paired with a pearl gray tie. 29 TVE cameras followed the parade from the Royal Palace to Congress. Doña Sofía and her daughters left.
His grandfather Don Juan, parents and uncles
Here, we find the big gap. More than a difference, an abyss. There was a large presence of royalty in 1986. In addition to the kings, Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía, and the infantas, Elena and Cristina, there was also Don Juan de Borbón, count of Barcelona. Don Juan Carlos’s sisters, the Infantas Pilar and Margarita, with their respective husbands, Luis Gómez-Acebo and Carlos Zurita; Doña Sofía’s brother, Constantine of Greece. And even, as the chronicles of the time recorded, the Duke of Cádiz, Alfonso de Borbón, cousin of the emeritus. In Leonor’s case, only her parents and her sister.
The sit-in of the independence parties
In a solemn session held by the Cortes Generales in 1986, Prince Felipe swore the Constitution. Representatives of the highest institutions of the State were present at the ceremony, such as the president of Congress, Gregorio Peces-Barba, who spoke at the event; the president of the Senate, José Federico de Carvajal, and the president of the Government, Felipe González. Behind Juan Carlos was the head of the King’s House at the time, Nicolás Cotoner y Cotoner. There was also the general secretary of the House, Sabino Fernández Campo, a position he held until 1990. From that year on he was named head, replacing Cotoner and Cotoner. Also, the presidents of the TC and the CGPJ, the former presidents of the Government, of the autonomous communities, deputies and senators.
This October 31, the Princess will swear before a woman, the president of Congress, Francina Armengol (unlike Don Felipe who swore before Peces-Barba). Also, before the president of the Senate, Pedro Rollán; the president of the Constitutional Court, Cándido Conde-Pumpido; and the member of the General Council of the Judiciary, Vicente Guilarte. The former presidents of the Government, ministers, deputies and senators and presidents of the autonomous communities will appear. There will be absences. The representatives of ERC, Junts, EH Bildu, PNV and BNG, partners of the PSOE, will be absent, as they have already announced, to carry out the investiture of Pedro Sánchez.