Felipe VI (Spanish pronunciation: [feˈlipe ˈseksto]; Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain, reigning since 2014.
Felipe was born in Madrid during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco as the third child and only son of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (later King and Queen of Spain). He was officially proclaimed Prince of Asturias in 1977, two years after his father became king, and was formally sworn in as heir in 1986. At the age of nine, Felipe was made an honorary officer of the Spanish Army. He was educated at Santa María de los Rosales School in Madrid and attended Lakefield College School in Canada. Later, he studied law at the Autonomous University of Madrid and earned a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., United States.
To prepare for his future military role, Felipe joined the Spanish Army in 1985. Over the next two years, he completed military training in the Spanish Navy and Spanish Air Force. After finishing both civil and military studies, he undertook official duties representing his father at various national and international events, including charity foundations, cultural inaugurations, and diplomatic functions. During one such event, he met television journalist Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano, whom he married in 2004. They have two daughters: Leonor and Sofía.
Felipe ascended the throne on 19 June 2014 following the abdication of his father. His reign has been marked by the 2017 Catalan independence referendum and related 2017–2018 Spanish constitutional crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and initiatives promoting greater transparency and modernization within the Spanish monarchy. According to a 2020 opinion poll, Felipe has held moderately high approval ratings.
Felipe was born at 12:45 (CET) on 30 January 1968 at Our Lady of Loreto Hospital in Madrid, as the third child and only son of Prince Juan Carlos of Spain (later King Juan Carlos I) and Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark (later Queen Sofía of Spain).
He was baptised on 8 February 1968 at the Palace of Zarzuela by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Madrid, Casimiro Morcillo, with water from the Jordan River.
His full baptismal name, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos, was given in honor of significant relatives and ancestors: the first Bourbon king of Spain, Felipe V; his grandfathers, Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona and King Paul of Greece; his great-grandfather, Alfonso XIII of Spain; and the customary Bourbons addition de Todos los Santos ("of all the Saints").
His godparents were his paternal grandfather, the Count of Barcelona, and his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenie.
Shortly after his birth, Felipe was styled infante. The dictator Francisco Franco died just over two months before Felipe's eighth birthday, after which Felipe's father ascended the throne, having been appointed Prince of Spain in 1969. Felipe made his first official appearance at his father's proclamation as king on 22 November 1975.
In 1977, Felipe was formally proclaimed Prince of Asturias. In May, nine-year-old Felipe was made an honorary soldier of the 1st King's Inmemorial Infantry Regiment. The occasion was marked on 28 May and was attended by the king, the prime minister and several other ministers in a ceremony at the infantry's barracks. On 1 November the same year, he was ceremonially paid homage as Prince of Asturias in Covadonga. In 1981 Felipe received the Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece from his father, the Chief and Sovereign of the Order. On his 18th birthday on 30 January 1986, Felipe swore allegiance to the Constitution and to the King in the Spanish Parliament as required by the constitution, fully accepting his role as successor to the Crown.
In 1999, the construction began on a new royal residence near the Zarzuela Palace. This residence, known as the Prince's Pavilion (Spanish: Pabellón del Principe), became Felipe's private residence in the summer of 2002 and cost 4.23 million euros.
Education and military training
From 1972 to 1984, Felipe attended school at Santa María de los Rosales, which his daughters both attended. Felipe attended high school at Lakefield College School in Ontario, Canada in September of that year, and studied at the Autonomous University of Madrid, where he graduated with a degree in law; he also completed several courses in economics. He completed his academic studies by obtaining a Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he was the roommate of his cousin, Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece.
As the heir to the throne, a carefully regulated and structured plan was laid out for Felipe's military training. In August 1985, a Royal Decree named Felipe as officer at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza. He began his military training there in September. He completed the first phase of his formation in October. In July 1986, he was promoted to Cadet Ensign. He was also named as Midshipman. In September 1986, he began his naval training at the Naval Military Academy in Marin (Pontevedra), joining the Third Brigade. In January 1987, he continued his naval training on board the training ship Juan Sebastián Elcano.
In July, he was named as Student Ensign at the General Air Academy in Murcia. In September 1987, he began his air force training there where he learned to fly aircraft. In 1989, he was promoted to lieutenant in the Army, ensign in the Navy, and lieutenant in the Air Force. In 1992, he was promoted to captain in the Air Force. In 1993, he was promoted to lieutenant in the Navy and captain in the Infantry of the Army.
Further promotions in 2000 were commandant in the Army, corvette captain in the Navy, and commandant in the Air Force. Promotions in 2009 were lieutenant colonel in the Army, frigate captain in the Navy, and lieutenant colonel in the Air Force.
Since 19 June 2014, after his accession to the throne, he acquired the rank of Captain General (Commander-in-chief) of all the Spanish armies (Army, Navy and Air Force). During the 2016 Pascua Militar, the Chief of the Defence Staff, Fernando García Sánchez, on behalf of the Armed Forces, gave the monarch a personalized command baton, which symbolizes the loyalty of the armies to the king and the command he has over them. The piece, made by some jewelers from León, is made of cherry wood and the tips are adorned with silver pieces.
Felipe speaks Spanish, Catalan, French, English and some Greek.