Who is Joseph Bertelsen, the attractive British sailor who accompanies Princess Leonor aboard the ship Juan Sebastián Elcano

This Saturday, January 11, Princess Leonor de Borbón embarked on a new stage in her military training aboard the Juan Sebastián Elcano training ship along with 75 other midshipmen. For this journey, which will take her through different parts of the world over the next six months, she has composed a crew of a total of 200 peopleamong which are teachers, doctors and professionals in charge of the group’s safety. However, among all of them, a young British colleague stood out: Joseph Bertelsen.

The truth is that little is known about the rest of Princess Leonor’s companions, beyond the fact that they all They are part of the third course of the Naval School of Marínwhich the Princess of Asturias began last September.

However, a little more has been learned about this 26-year-old ship ensign. Bertelsen has been selected to be one of the ship’s crew members as part of the exchange program that the Navies of the United Kingdom and Spain They started in 1996.

This decision has been determined by his command of Spanish, which he learned during his experience backpacking through South America. And this is not the only trait that has made him stand out. Joseph Bertelsen has a degree in marine biology from West Sussex. In 2023, after graduating from Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, he joined the Royal Navy.. “It is a true privilege and honor to be selected to participate in this exchange with the Spanish Navy aboard the Elcano, It’s the opportunity of a lifetime… I really want to meet my new colleagues,” he declared before boarding.

The role of Joseph Bertelsen

The British Embassy has announced that the function of the ensign On the ship he will be teaching English to the midshipmen and acting as an ambassador for the British Navy. However, he is not the only one who is enjoying this program. “Currently, three British officers are in Spain: In addition to Bertelsen, there is one on the frigate Canarias and another on the General Staff course in Madrid. It is a true privilege and an honor to be selected to participate in this exchange with the Spanish Navy aboard Elcano,” the Embassy added in its statement.