Princess Leonor has taken advantage of her speech at the ceremony for the Princess of Asturias Awards 2026 to reflect on the difficulties that young people face in building their future. From the Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, the heir to the throne addressed the lack of job expectations, the problems of accessing housing, and social disillusionment, in an intervention in which she has claimed hope and confidence in the face of uncertainty.
"Young people ask ourselves questions", the princess acknowledged, who described a scenario conditioned by inequalities, international conflicts, extremism, and technological changes. She also referred to the difficulty of her generation in developing a life project in a context of growing complexity.
"How we digest speed and disillusionment, what many consider a lack of expectations and the impossibility of planning a life, having a good job, a house," Leonor posed during her intervention.
The princess has placed these concerns at the center of a speech dedicated to claiming the work of this year's awardees. In the face of pessimism, she defended the need to find role models that allow for the recovery of confidence in the future.
Housing, Employment, and the Disillusionment of Young People
Leonor dedicated part of her intervention to the concerns of her generation, which, as she stated, must navigate a world conditioned by political, economic, and technological transformations.
The heir to the throne listed some of the factors that fuel this uncertainty: the "deep social disillusionment," inequalities, conflicts, extremism, populism, and technological and hybrid wars. She added the impact of social media, macroeconomic indicators, and the cost of living.
In that context, she explicitly mentioned the difficulties in finding a good job, accessing housing, and planning for the future, concerns that she linked to the lack of expectations perceived by a part of the youth.
However, her reflection has not been limited to describing these problems. Leonor has also asked how to respond to such a scenario without falling into pessimism or an naive view of reality.
"How can I present myself to you sincerely, neither naive nor apocalyptic, neither cynical nor dramatic," she has stated, before defending the importance of maintaining curiosity and the capacity for wonder.
"Because yes, we need to trust", she has affirmed.
A claim for Europe and international cooperation
The princess has also dedicated part of her speech to the international situation and the role of Europe in a world that she has described, through the reflections of historian Timothy Garton Ash, as "clearly post-Western."
Referring to the awardee, Leonor has highlighted the opportunity that the European Union and the United Kingdom have to reinforce the values on which the European project was built.
At this point, she has gathered some of the proposals defended by Garton Ash, among them the strengthening of European security and defense, the implementation of the Draghi report, and the creation of a single digital space.
The heir to the throne has presented these reflections as an invitation to study and understand the challenges of Europe, at a time of geopolitical transformations and debate about the future of European integration.
International cooperation has also appeared in her references to other awardees, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a project aimed at preserving crop diversity and protecting plant heritage against threats such as wars, natural disasters, or lack of resources.
The value of the human versus artificial intelligence
Another of the issues present in the intervention has been the role of technology and artificial intelligence versus human creativity and emotions.
Leonor has reflected on the search for authenticity in an increasingly digitalized environment and on the value of human imperfection versus the supposed perfection of machines.
To develop this idea, she has turned to the work of British writer Julian Barnes, one of the awardees, whose literature she has praised for its ability to explore memory, love, illness, and death.
"No AI will be able to replicate the emotion that his work provokes," she has stated.
The princess has also recalled her personal relationship with Studio Ghibli films. In one of the most familial moments of her speech, she has recounted how her mother, Queen Letizia, took Leonor and her sister Sofía to see Ponyo on the Cliff when the Infanta was still not two years old.
From that memory, she has claimed the educational value of cinema and the capacity of animation to convey messages about nature, humanism, and bravery.
From Messi to Patti Smith, Leonor's references
The heir to the throne has also dedicated words to the other awardees, among them the footballer Leo Messi, whose career she has presented as an example of individual talent at the service of a collective project.
About the Argentine, she has recalled the description of an old player from Sporting de Gijón who highlighted his ability to turn the extraordinary into the usual and make decisions in tenths of a second without losing sight of the team.
She has also praised the artist Patti Smith for her independence and her rebellion. Leonor has emphasized the authenticity of a creator whose work, she has pointed out, reflects a freedom that does not need to ask for permission.
The astronaut Christina Koch has starred in another of the reflections of the speech. Based on her space experience, the princess has recalled the shared responsibility of human beings for the planet.
"We share everything, we are connected, we are condemned to understand each other", she has stated, before recovering the idea that we all are part of "the crew of Earth."
Leonor has also recognized the scientific advances of David Klenerman, Shankar Balasubramanian, and Pascal Mayer in DNA sequencing, highlighting their contribution to biomedical research and the importance of teamwork.
A message of hope in the face of uncertainty
The princess has begun her speech by recalling the first edition of the awards, held in 1981, when María Zambrano was recognized with the Communication and Humanities award.
The philosopher, who had been in exile for four decades, then sent some words addressed to the current king Felipe VI, who was 13 years old. In them, she spoke of youth, of the unprecedented, and of the hope that accompanied a new stage in Spanish history.
Leonor has recovered that message to establish a link between the expectations of that generation and the questions that today's youth are asking.
In the final part of her speech, she returned to hope through a reflection by Václav Havel, who understood this concept not as the certainty that everything will turn out well, but as the conviction that there are causes worth defending regardless of the outcome.
With that idea, the princess has defended the importance of recognizing those who contribute to knowledge, culture, science, and cooperation, even in times of uncertainty.
Her speech concluded with a verse by Paul Valéry recovered by Hayao Miyazaki, one of the founders of Studio Ghibli: "The wind rises… We must try to live!!".