Princess Leonor has begun this Monday her university stage arriving "with a lot of enthusiasm" at the Getafe campus of the Carlos III University of Madrid (UC3M), where she will study for the next four years the degree in Political Science as part of her preparation to become Queen.
The heir to the throne accessed the premises shortly before 9:00 a.m., mixed among the nearly 3,000 students who were also starting the academic year at this public institution. She was wearing jeans, a white shirt, sneakers, and carried a large black bag, in an image of absolute everyday life.
Upon her arrival, numerous students, university staff, and curious onlookers gathered at the entrance to witness the moment, take photos, and record videos, creating an atmosphere of notable expectation on this first day of classes.
At the door of the "Adolfo Posada" building, where her classroom is located, the Princess of Asturias was received by the rector of UC3M, Ángel Arias; the vice-rector of Students, Pilar Otero, and the dean of the Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences, Antonio Descalzo.
Before crossing the threshold, Leonor waved to those present and to the numerous media gathered, confirming that she faces this new educational phase "with a lot of enthusiasm" after completing her three years of military training.
According to the rector's account later, the Princess "was excited and calm and eager to start," highlighting that for UC3M it represents "a joy and a responsibility" to host the university education of the future Queen in a public institution.
Theory of Law, her first class at UC3M
The "destiny" has wanted that the first subject Princess Leonor receives is Theory of Law, taught by Professor Rafael de Asís Roig, "first disciple" of the founding rector of UC3M, Gregorio Peces Barba, one of the 'fathers' of the Constitution, Arias recalled.
It was precisely Peces Barba, then president of the Congress of Deputies, who swore in the Constitution to then Prince Felipe when he reached adulthood in 1986, a historical link that now projects onto the education of his daughter.
Before entering the classroom, the director of the Political Science degree, Gema García Albacete, has offered some general indications to the Princess and her 40 classmates about the functioning of academic life on campus, on a day when many students have shown themselves to be inhibited by the presence of cameras and journalists.
The academic morning of Leonor is completed with a practical session of Research Methodology in Social Sciences, taught by Professor Carlos Santiago Caballero, and a master class on Fundamentals of Political Science led by Pablo Simón Cosano, in which students from the International Studies degree at UC3M will also participate. The day will conclude at 14:00 hours.
Normality and the same rules as the rest of the students
Both the Royal House and Carlos III University have bet that the Princess can pursue her studies with as much normality as possible during these four years. Therefore, she will follow the same curriculum as the rest of the students and will share classes and evaluations under identical conditions.
The institution trusts that, after the media attention of the first days, the presence of one who is called to be Queen of Spain will integrate into the routine of the campus and be perceived as something usual.
The rector has emphasized that no extraordinary measures have been established due to the attendance of the Princess of Asturias, beyond the already existing regulations regarding the use of mobile phones, which are prohibited in classrooms unless expressly authorized by the teaching staff.
He has also appealed to the "maximum responsibility of the students," many of whom have assured the media that they will treat Leonor as just another classmate and have acknowledged the pressure it implies for her to always be in the public spotlight. "I am convinced that she will have excellent classmates," Arias has stated.
In the same vein, the dean of the faculty has emphasized that "the teaching staff is the same" that has been teaching the degree and that the classroom has not been modified. "There is no change, the campus remains the same," he has insisted, reinforcing the idea of absolute normality in the daily university life of the Princess.