King Felipe and Princess Leonor fly together for the first time on a training mission over the Mar Menor
The Spanish royal household has released images of King Felipe VI and his heir flying separate Pilatus PC-21 aircraft in a joint training exercise at the San Javier air academy, coinciding with the 12th anniversary of his accession.
In the air together
King Felipe VI and Princess Leonor have completed their first joint flight, piloting two Pilatus PC-21 trainers side by side over the Mar Menor near Murcia. The images, released by Zarzuela on 19 June 2026, show the pair in green flight suits preparing the mission and then airborne, flying in close formation along the Mediterranean coast.
Timed for a crown anniversary
The release was deliberately tied to the date Felipe VI was proclaimed king in 2014. The images, taken days earlier, were kept until the anniversary to underscore the continuity of the monarchy, with the heir now visibly capable of stepping into her future role as head of the armed forces.
It was quite good; I felt better than I expected.
Thank you, Dad.
A long training journey nears its end
The exercise is part of Leonor’s final weeks at the General Air Academy in San Javier, the last of three institutions she has passed through. She began at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza (2023–2024), then moved to the Naval Academy in Marín, which included a six-month cruise on the Juan Sebastián de Elcano, before her current posting in Murcia. Earlier in June she completed a parachuting course at Alcantarilla air base, the first member of the Spanish royal family ever to do so.
Handing over the controls
The day at San Javier was structured as an instructional sequence: Leonor briefed her father on safety and the flight plan, a simulator session followed, and then both took off in separate aircraft. A captain and an instructor accompanied each cockpit. The Pilatus models they flew replaced the Casa C-101 jets Felipe trained on decades ago.
Message of institutional renewal
By releasing the material on the proclamation anniversary, the palace projected an image of a modernised monarchy. Felipe VI’s 2014 pledge of a “renewed monarchy for a new time” was visually linked to his daughter’s readiness, captured in the images of father and daughter looking at each other with evident ease after landing. The closing ceremony for her military training is expected in July, after which she will receive her commissions as a lieutenant and alférez de fragata.
- Starts military education at the General Military Academy in Zaragoza
- Transfers to the Naval Academy in Marín; later embarks on the Elcano cruise
- Begins final year at the General Air Academy in San Javier (Murcia)
- Completes parachuting course at Alcantarilla air base
- Royal household releases images of joint flight with King Felipe VI
- Expected to receive her commissions and conclude military training
