‘Inside’ the Naval School of Marín with Leonor: early mornings, shared room with bunk beds and restricted mobile phone

The expected day arrives Leonor’s entry into the NavyThe date indicated on the calendar to see her cross the door of the military center of Pontevedra to begin another stage of her military training is this Thursday, August 29, and many things will be different from this August 17, 2023, when she arrives in Zaragoza, accompanied by her parents and her sister, the Infanta Sofía. This time she will go alonewithout the kings and the infanta, loaded with a suitcase full of dreams and nerves in a new stage.

We are making this trip from ‘Inside’ the Naval School of Marín with Leonor to learn in detail everything that awaits her over the next few months: what her daily life will look like, the details of the place that will become her new home, her challenges and the changes that had to be made to welcome such an illustrious student, among other things. This is the heiress’ roadmap for the next 11 months.

The farewell will be private, in Zarzuela, before Felipe VI travels to Barcelona to hold two events on his institutional agenda and Letizia goes to Pariswhere she will accompany the Paralympic athletes, from September 30 to 2. Once Leonor is inside the school, I will wear the work uniform to begin her third course as a First Aspirant, in a study plan specially designed for her.

A factory reserved for women

Before its arrival, the Naval Academy made some changes. The naval center will be 80 years old in 2023. It is accessed by the emblematic Charles I Gateand its main motto is “honor, courage, discipline, loyalty”, values ​​that will inspire Leonor again. In its more than 300,000 square meters, buildings are built for the training of students as well as the residences of cadets and the rest of the Navy soldiers.

The Princess will reside in one of them, will share a room with three other girls in an exclusively female plant. An austere room, with bunk beds and a few small closets for their belongings, as was seen during the visit of Minister Margarita Robles to the school last Wednesday. The Minister of Defense was clear: “It will be necessary come tomorrow as another student and will join the third year (year). During these first months, he will be here at school in the same regime as his classmates and, therefore, there is no exceptionmore than those that correspond to the time due to the fact that she is the Princess of Asturias.”

This year, 17 women entered the Naval Academy compared to 129 men. They are still a minority, but Leonor’s presence is an inspiration to many young women. In fact, last year, the number of women increased by 2%. Within the academy, everyone has identical obligations and must personally take care of cleaning their room and making their uniform perfect.

As we have highlighted, some improvements have been made to the school. Some facilities have been modernized and a catering company was hired to prepare a menu and serve it to students in the dining room, replacing the typical buffet that previously existed and is now reserved for breakfast.

Another of the measures that they had to adapt are those of securitylogically. It is forbidden to distribute any image of the heiress both in school and in all the activities he carries out, as happened in the General Academy of Zaragoza. They already exist restrictive rules regarding the use of mobile phoneswhich will continue to be observed exhaustively. The mission is to protect Leonor’s privacy as much as possible so that she can concentrate on her task. And extreme precautions will be taken to ensure that this is the case.

Early morning and study

In Marín, everything already seems familiar to the Princess of Asturias, who already knows the demands of military life. After his time in the Army, he knows what awaits him: early mornings, maneuvers, studies… but also camaraderie and new friendships. You have to get up at 6:45. have time to tidy up your room, wash up and show up at the dining room with the uniform of the internal regime, as they say, impeccable.

Dressed in a short-sleeved shirt, pants with a buckled belt, and lace-up shoes, You will have breakfast between 7am and 7:30am.. As a third-year student, she does not have a pre-assigned seat and can sit wherever and with whomever she wants. At eight in the morning, the superiors inspect them to check that everyone is perfectly in uniform and at nine o’clock the classes begin.

They last 45 minutes and have a short half-hour break at 10:30. The first part of the day ends around two o’clock and resumes at four o’clock until 6:30 p.m. when you have time to study or do activities. The days are intense.They always have a task to do“, explained Captain Pedro Cardona Suanzes, commander of the center. You will be able to meet your classmates in the so-called aspirants’ room, a canteen specially reserved for third years.

You have the right to leave the center whenever you want and to spend the night outside on weekends, but in the province. If you want to leave to go to Zarzuela, you will have to request a special permit. Also emphasize that You don’t have to wear a uniform outside of the school, what the students of the lower classes must observe. In Marín, Leonor has a specific study plan for her, which emphasizes the themes of maritime navigation and naval culture.

A perfect tutor

As already happened at the AGM, the first-born of the Kings will have a professional to guide her in this new stage. If before she was a lieutenant colonel Margarita Pardo de Santayana, in Pontevedra, is taken over by Pedro Cardona Suanzes, director of the naval school itselfwho gave up a promotion in order to remain in office for one more year and be the guardian of the heir.

“For him it is an honour and after having traced the path that Leonor would follow within the army, he did not want to let the opportunity to be part of the destiny of the future of Spain pass him by,” a source told EL ESPAÑOL last week.

Demanding maneuvers

If last year we saw her crawling on the ground, practicing shooting or looking for her bearings with her compass in the mountains, now she must also comply with the a tough and demanding educationquite different from what you know. As a child, she sailed several times during her holidays in Majorca with the king’s family, but it is now that the sea becomes a universe to explore.

It is time to consolidate all the knowledge acquired in Zaragoza and add new ones like navigation, diving and first aid simulators. In addition to the work of the crew when boarding the Juan Sebastián Elcano.

Dress codes

The uniform, whether for everyday wear, work, campaign, gala and black tie, must always be impeccable. Hence the criticism. There are modalities A, B and C, depending on the cold, temperate and hot climate, which determine the clothing, the colours and the type of clothing.

In any event and as determined by the Navy regulations: “The soldier must wear the uniform with convenience and accuracywearing the clothing and displaying the regulatory emblems, badges, insignia and awards that each
the occasion requires it and for which it is authorized. You may only wear uniform clothing whose physical and design characteristics have been approved by the regulations in force. All clothing must be properly buttoned or buttoned.

Wearing a skirt or trousers is optional, but all students must wear the same thing, so it will be a consensual decision between Leonor and her classmates. “When female staff can choose between wearing trousers or skirts, wearing trousers will mean wearing lace-up shoes and socks, and Wearing a skirt means wearing high heels and stockings.with the particularities of each uniformity”.

THE occasions when each uniform is worn They are also regulated. The flag swearing gala, Military Easter and Columbus Day, among others. The work uniform, for the development of daily activities in units, centers and organizations, unless the use of other uniforms is ordered. And the campaign, to carry out operational, training or instructional activities.