MADRID (AP) — The heir to the Spanish throne, Princess Leonor, swore allegiance to her country's Constitution on her 18th birthday Tuesday, laying the groundwork for her eventual succession as queen when the time comes. Leonor de Borbón Ortiz recited the same oath as her father did when he — then prince — turned 18 in 1986. Leonor became crown princess when Felipe VI was proclaimed king on June 19, 2014. The royal family — Leonor, younger sister Sofia, Felipe and Queen Letizia — arrived at the parliament building escorted by a mounted squadron of Spain's Royal Guard. Juan Carlos, 85, who abdicated in 2014, left Spain for Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, in 2020 amid a cloud of financial scandals.

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Persons: Princess Leonor, Leonor de Borbón Ortiz, —, “, ”, Leonor, Felipe VI, ” Leonor, — Leonor, Sofia, Felipe, Queen Letizia —, King Juan Carlos, Leonor’s, Juan Carlos, Queen Sofía, it’s, Letizia, Gen, Francisco Franco, Juan de Borbón, Alfonso XIII, Franco, Princess, Joseph Wilson Organizations: MADRID, Deputies, Spain's Royal Guard, Royce, United Arab, Asturias Foundation, Associated Press Locations: parliament's, Madrid, Basque, Catalan, Galician, Pardo, Spain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Second Republic, Zaragoza, Wales, Barcelona