Mystery of Princess Leonor’s necklace: Spanish royal, 17, donned chain with the word ‘love’ in Arabic at her graduation – so, was it a gift from her grandfather King Juan Carlos?
- The 17-year-old royal completed her studies in South Wales over the weekend
- READ MORE: Princess Leonor and Princess Alexia graduate from UWC Atlantic
Princess Leonor has sparked speculation over a gold pendant she chose to wear to her graduation party.
The 17-year-old royal has completed her studies at ‘Hippie Hogwarts’ UWC Atlantic College in South Wales, and was joined by her parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, and her sister Princess Sofia, 16, for her graduation.
To mark the occasion, the royal family shared several pictures taken on the day on their social media. In the series of snap, Leonor could be seen wearing a pink dress and a golden necklace as she proudly showed off her international baccalaureate certificate.
Eagle-eyed fans were quick to pick up on the fact that the young royal’s necklace spelled ‘hubb,’ which means ‘love’ in Arabic.
Journalist Martín Bianchi (El País), former editor-in-chief of ¡HOLA!, suggested the piece of jewellery could be a gift from her grandfather, the disgraced King Juan Carlos, who has been living in the United Arab Emirates since 2020 after he was hit by corruption claims in 2014, which have since been dismissed.
Princess Leonor of Spain, 17, donned a gold necklace reading ‘love’ in Arabic, leading some members of the Spanish media to suggested it was gifted to her by her grandfather Juan Carlos, who abdicated in 2014 and lives in the United Arab Emirates since 2020
Leonor first donned the necklace last summer while on a break with her parents, and wore it to her graduation over the weekend, with a fuchsia tuxedo dress by the Spanish brand Apparentia, costing 399 euros.
The piece of jewellery read ‘love’ in gold letters, with a diamond placed at the centre of the pendant.
After the pictures were shared online to mark the occasion of the Princess completing her studies in Wales, Bianchi took to Twitter to share his thoughts about the origin of the necklace.
‘Princess Leonor graduated with a necklace with the word “hubb”, love in Arabic. Her grandfather, Juan Carlos I, lives in Abu Dhabi,’ the journalist said, suggesting the necklace could have been a gift to his granddaughter.
Others suggested that the necklace could have been gifted by a suitor, and hint that the princess is ‘in love.’
The Spanish magazine NUIS noted that the necklace could have been picked by Leonor herself, because the royal speaks Arabic fluently, after years of studying it, along with Catalan, French, Galician, Basque and Chinese.
The necklace is made of gold and reads the inscription in Arabic, with a diamond in the middle of the pendent
Leonor, pictured with her parents, King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, left, her sister, Princess Sofia, now 16, and her grandfather Juan Carlos and Grandmother Princess Sofia, right, in 2018
The Spanish royal palace have not commented on the provenance of the piece of jewellery.
Both the Royal Families of Spain and Netherlands celebrated the graduation of Princess Leonor and Princess Alexia, both 17, this weekend.
The school, which was founded in German educationalist Kurt Hahn, is situated at the 12th century St Donat’s Castle on the country’s south coast.
With school fees for a two year course costing a whopping £67,000, courses on offer include Tai Chi, the theory of knowledge and Tibetan literature.
King Felipe VI, 55, Queen Letizia, 50, and Princess Sofia, 16, all made the journey from Spain to congratulate Leonor, who is the heir to the throne.
In one picture, Leonor could be seen proudly showing her graduation certificate up in front of her.
King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Princess Sofia all made the journey from Spain to congratulate Princess Leonor, 17, who is the heir to the throne, as she has just completed her education at UWC Atlantic
The freshly graduated royal picked a hot pink jacket dress for the ceremony – which had cut-outs on the sleeves.
Letizia looked effortlessly elegant in a white suit which she paired with a silky blush pink top while Felipe was dapper in a black suit.
One sweet snap showed Sofia, who was wearing a powder blue dress – hugging her big sister close.
In another picture, media savvy Letizia gives the camera her best pout as the family pose for a selfie.
The images was shared by the Spanish royal court on Twitter to announce the heir-to-the-throne’s graduation.
They captioned the post: ‘The King and the Queen, the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Sofía, after the graduation ceremony for the Princess of Asturias at the UWC Atlantic College of Wales, the educational institution where she completed her International Baccalaureate studies.’
Princess Leonor is set to start her military training before the end of the summer in August.
Whereas many of her peers will go off to university, the eldest daughter of King Felipe and Queen Letizia will return to Spain to begin training.
Tatler reported that Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles confirmed Princess Leonor of Asturias’s next move earlier this week.
The training will include stints in the armed forces, the Spanish navy and the air force.
Speaking in March, Ms Robles confirmed: ‘In due course, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces will be a woman, and in recent years we have been making a very important effort to incorporate women into the armed forces.’
The Princess will begin her training at Army Military Academy in Zaragoza before going to naval school, and will complete her three years at the General Air Academy.
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