Biography Of His Majesty the King
His Majesty King Felipe VI of Bourbon and Greece is the third child of Their Majesties the King Juan Carlos and the Queen Sofía. He was born in Madrid, on 30 January 1968, at Nuestra Señora de Loreto clinic. In the sacrament of Baptism, he was given the names of Felipe, Juan, Pablo, and Alfonso de Todos los Santos, in memory, respectively, of the first Bourbon King to reign in Spain; of his paternal grandfather, the Head of the Spanish Royal Household; of his maternal grandfather, the King of the Hellenes; and of his great grandfather, Alfonso XIII, King of Spain. His godparents were his grandfather, His Royal Highness Juan de Borbón, Count of Barcelona, and his great grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenie.
In 1981, he received the Collar of the Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece, granted by His Majesty the King Juan Carlos, Head and Sovereign of the Order.
On 30 January 1986, when he turned eighteen, he swore loyalty to the King, before the Spanish Parliament, taking an oath to discharge his duties faithfully, to abide by the Constitution and the law and ensure that they are abided by, and to respect the rights of citizens and the Autonomous Communities, fully undertaking his institutional role as successor to the Crown.
On 1 November 2003, Their Majesties the King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía announced his engagement to Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano.
The religious wedding ceremony was held on 22 May 2004 at the Santa María la Real de la Almudena Cathedral of Madrid.
They have two daughters, Leonor, Princess of Asturias, born on 31 October 2005, and Sofía, Infanta of Spain, born on 29 April 20, both in Madrid.
His father, King Juan Carlos I, abdicated the Spanish Throne and sanctioned the preceptive Organic Law on 18 June 2014.
On 19 June 2014, Felipe took the Oath set forth in Article 61 of the Constitution and was proclaimed King before Parliament, taking the name of Felipe VI.
The King holds the military rank of Captain General of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, the highest military rank, which corresponds exclusively to the supreme commander of the Armed Forces.
EDUCATION
He went to Santa María de los Rosales School until 1984, for his Infant, Primary and Secondary education. He completed his Secondary education by studying the last year—the equivalent of the university entrance course—at Lakefield College School, in Canada.
From September 1985 to July 1988, His Majesty trained at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza, where he pledged allegiance to the Flag on 11 October 1985. He continued his military training at the Military Naval School in Marín, and at the General Air Force Academy in San Javier, successively, and was given the commissions of Infantry Lieutenant, Navy Sub-Lieutenant, and Air Force Lieutenant. He is a helicopter pilot, with instrument flightrating in the 402nd Army Air Force Squadron. He earned Helicopter Pilot Wings from the Army and the Navy.
From October 1988 to June 1993, he studied at the Autónoma University of Madrid, where he graduated with a degree in Law, and also studied diverse subjects relating to the degree in Economic Science, in order to complete his education in this area.
In September 1993, he enrolled in a Master's Degree Course in International Relations at the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University (Washington, DC), from which he graduated on 26 May 1995.
From September 1999 to June 2000, he took a refresher course in Security and Defence.
OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES
In 1990, he began to make a series of official visits to Spain's Autonomous Communities, in order to gain more profound knowledge of Spain and become closer to all Spaniards.
After completing his academic studies in the United States, Felipe fulfilled the institutional commitments deriving from his status as Crown Prince, both in Spain and abroad, and he participates in the most important events of the different sectors and areas of Spanish public life.
He held regular meetings with the Constitutional bodies and with the main institutions of Spain's Central Administration and Autonomous Communities, to learn about their activities.
He granted public and private audiences to a large number of people from the political, economic and cultural spheres, and from the media, in order to be informed of national and international affairs.
MILITARY ACTIVITIES
His Majesty is in close contact with the Armed Forces and with the Civil Guard, following a programme of activities that includes giving commissions at the Academies for Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, attending exercises and manoeuvres, visiting units, centres and institutions, and, since 2010, attending military audiences.
In addition to keeping in touch with his classmates at the Military Academies, King Felipe is informed about current military affairs through private audiences with senior Military and Civil Guard Officers, and through working meetings.
ACTIVITIES ABROAD
As the Prince of Asturias he carried out many activities abroad, playing a very active role in promoting Spain's economic and commercial interests. He was also especially interested in promoting knowledge of Spanish language and culture, through support for the network of Instituto Cervantes centres and the creation of Chairs to spread knowledge of the history and current reality of Spain at the principal foreign universities.
To this end, he made official visits every year, accompanied by Queen Letizia, to an Ibero-American country and to another country in the European Union, the Middle East or the Far East in which Spain has strategic interests.
Since January 1996, he has represented Spain at the swearing-in ceremonies of the Ibero-American Presidents.
FOUNDATIONS
in addition to his official activities, King Felipe is Honorary President of diverse Associations and Foundations, to whose activities he is especially committed, participating in working meetings and chairing the meetings of their Boards of Trustees. Noteworthy among these are the Prince of Asturias Foundation, the Prince of Girona Foundation, and the Hesperia Foundation.
The Prince of Asturias Foundation was constituted in Oviedo (Asturias) on 24 September 1980, and seeks, among other goals, to enhance and promote the cultural and moral values that contribute to the progress of humankind. As a symbol, the internationally-renowned "Prince of Asturias" Awards are granted each year, at a ceremony presided over by His Majesty each October in Oviedo.
La Prince of Girona Foundation was born in 2009 with the purpose of supporting young people, promoting their entrepreneurial spirit in the business, social, scientific, academic and cultural spheres. Its central event is the Impulsa Forum, which is held each year in Girona.
Together with the Queen, he presides the Hesperia Foundation, created in 2010 to promote projects of a social nature involving youth, especially young people in the most underprivileged situations.
He also holds regular working meetings with the Codespa Foundation, dedicated to combating poverty through economic and social development, and with the Elcano Royal Institute, the principal Spanish think tank generating thought and ideas in the field of international and strategic relations.
HOBBIES
An enthusiast of sports in general, he was a member of the Olympic Sailing team in the Soling class at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he was Spain's flag bearer in the Parade of the Nations during the opening ceremony. He came in sixth, for which he was awarded an Olympic Diploma.