Tomorrow, between 8:30 and 10:00, Leonor de Borbón y Ortiz will head down Avenida de los Reyes and enter the General Military Academy of Zaragoza, where he will begin his military training. The Princess of Asturias is destined to become, when she is queen, the first woman Captain General of the Three Armies of Spain, and for this the Royal House and the Government have designed a specific study plan that will extend throughout the years. next three years. After residing in the Zarzuela since she was born -with the exception of the last two years, in which she has been in Wales studying high school- Leonor’s life will take a 180 degree turn when tomorrow she receives her uniform and begins his military life.
The Academy receives tomorrow 612 new cadets, of which 140 are women. In an open day for journalists, different soldiers from the institution have explained what are the steps that Leonor is going to follow and what her life and that of her colleagues will be like from now on. Cadets, if they wish, may be accompanied by their parents at the time of admission, who will have the opportunity to visit the facilities where their children will live for the next few years. After saying goodbye to their parents, the cadets are framed, they are assigned cabins and they meet their companions. They also stop by the hairdresser and receive their uniforms. The first two weeks are for adaptation and during them they receive basic knowledge on military legislation and regulations, which they complement with physical training and military instruction.
From then on, they are completely immersed in the military life offered by “the small city” that is the Military Academy of Zaragoza, where there is a bank branch, a store where you can buy clothes and other basic objects, gym, tennis and paddle tennis courts, an indoor pool and also a canteen with affordable prices where cadets can relax and enjoy their scarce free time. There they can eat, for example, potato tortilla sandwiches for 2.50 euros (1.60 if they prefer a flea). The most expensive that can be found on the menu are Serrano ham and cheese, at seven euros each dish. Those who prefer something healthier can take the Illustrated Salad, with lettuce, tomato, onion, tuna and hard-boiled egg (4.50 euros). To this we must add a wide range of mixed dishes (between 4.60 and 6 euros), hamburgers for 5 euros or portions of torreznos from Soria for 2.80 euros. As for drinks, there are beers in all kinds of formats with prices ranging from 1.60 euros (tubes) to 2.50 (jugs).
Leonor, who beyond the specific study plan will not have any privileges or special treatment, will receive “an education in principles and values, not only technical” and will be subject to a very strict schedule discipline. “The cadets have to understand that this is no longer the ESO or the Baccalaureate,” they point out from the Academy. Reveille is at 6:30. Classes begin at 7:45 a.m. and run until 2:20 p.m. After lunch, where the students can only choose dessert, they go on to carry out different exercises and activities, which are also usually complemented with extra physical activities in the sports facilities. Throughout the course theoretical training is combined with instruction. “The demand is high, and they have to learn to manage their time.” So much so that the cadets, as a general rule, spend most of their free time studying and some even travel to Zaragoza to receive private classes.
The day ends with the touch of silence, which is given at 11:00 at night. From then on, all cadets have to be in their cabins and can’t make noise. Of up to 12 people capacityUsually, these are made up of between 8 and 10 cadets. Each of them is made up of three rooms; in the first of them are the tables for the study and the cabinets. The second, for the showers and toilets, and in the third are the beds. It is a space designed for study and rest, which does not give rise to any extra activity, beyond the use that future soldiers want to give their mobile phones.