IT'S NOT all sunning yourself by the sea during your sixth-form summer holidays when you're going to be Queen – sometimes you have to spend your down-time going to work. And in full public view, too, knowing your every move will end up in the newspapers and whatever you wear will attract comments.
Luckily for Spain's teenage Crown Princess, Leonor, she is very much loved by the 47 million residents of the country she will eventually become head of State for, and she's been gradually eased into her high-profile Royal rôle practically from the cradle.
Princess Leonor giving her speech at the opening of her namesake awards
Although her 'main' title is Princess of Asturias, she has a long string of others – one of which is Princess of Girona and, like the Asturias version, awards are given annually in this name.
Until her father, Felipe VI, became King in 2014, the awards were granted under the title of Prince of Asturias and Prince of Girona, since they attach to whoever is in the 'job' at the time rather than the individual.
Whilst the Princess of Asturias Awards are fairly well-known outside of Spain – widely considered to be the national answer to the Nobel Prizes – the Princess of Girona Awards are a much newer concept and more low-key.
They were invented in 2010, aimed at recognising and rewarding young adults, aged 35 and under, for outstanding achievements in the fields of arts, sciences, engineering, and similar.
This year's winner of the Princess of Girona Scientific Research Award, Dr Eleonora Viezzer (in front of Queen Letizia and the Infanta Sofía), receives her trophy - and a round of Royal applause
HRH Leonor, 16, presents them every year, giving a speech of her own crafting – normally a reminder about how young people are the future and should be given every opportunity to realise their potential and become the best possible version of themselves they can be – and the last time she did so, the apparently cool and level-headed teen was probably trying to take her mind off a rollercoaster of nerves and excitement that would mark her summer, having just learned she had won a place as a boarder at the prestigious United World College of the Atlantic, in Wales.
Now, after a year of living away from home – and abroad, and in a country with a different language – Princess Leonor is bound to have matured very quickly; she has always had to be grown-up for her age anyway, given that she is predestined to be reigning monarch, but as she was still only 15 when she flew to Wales alone to start her new life, the experience would have been even more daunting at such a tender age.
Teen Queen-to-be and her classy, grown-up new look...from the high street
This year's Princess of Girona Awards saw Leonor looking every inch the grown-up, sophisticated future leader, with an elegant updo and classy, tailored dress that left her almost unrecognisable for a moment.
Wearing makeup but minimal jewellery, Princess Leonor's earrings were top-of-the-range – white-gold with diamonds and topaz, from the Spanish label Luzz, retailing at €1,345 full price but around €1,000 in the sales – her off-the-shoulder lilac dress with its Brigitte Bardot neckline was from the high street, even though it looked as though it should have been a designer piece.
Queen Letizia wears a Royal-blue dress from Bourët, Princess Leonor wears a lilac dress from Miphai, and her little sister Sofía opted for a loose-fitting white trouser suit. Blue and white were largely the ‘family theme’ - followed by King Felipe VI (right), too
Retailing at full price at €195, but can be found for €169, the dress from Miphai is the Musca design, according to Spanish media.
This is the first time Leonor has been seen with such high-end jewellery, although her younger sister, the Infanta Sofía, is apparently not keen on wearing earrings; in fact, she does not even have her ears pierced yet.
Her mum, Queen Letizia, wore a Royal-blue dress with a dropped shoulder, costing €450 from Bourët, plus a long and thick silver chain, a clutch bag in the same blue as her dress, and high-heeled court shoes by Carolina Herrera.
As a nod to the very female future of the Spanish monarchy – Leonor has no brothers, only her sister Sofía, 15 – the 2022 Princess of Girona Awards went entirely to women for the first time.
This year's winners
Every year, the Princess of Girona Foundation (FPdGi) gives five prizes in as many categories, normally with a balance between male and female winners – at least two of each, then the fifth could be either – but the 2022 awards have all gone to women.
It is not clear whether this is deliberate, or merely because the applicants found to have the greatest merits just happened to be females.
The five elected receive a cash prize of €20,000, and a trophy in the form of a sculpture designed by the 2017 Arts and Letters Award winner Juan Zamora, now aged 40.
Arts and Letters: María Hervás
Actress, producer and scriptwriter, María, 35, from Madrid, has been distinguished for her 'excellence and versatility' in her field, as well as her 'social conscience and commitment' to changing the public's way of thinking and representing all walks of life through her audio-visual projects on stage and screen.
She is described by the Foundation as 'treating theatre as a tool for reflection and change'.
Prolific TV, film and theatre actress, director, producer and scriptwriter María Hervás (photo: Instituto25m/Wikimedia Commons)
Three of María's plays especially highlighted as examples of this are Confesiones a Alá ('Confessions to Allah'), Iphigenia en Vallecas ('Iphigenia in Vallecas', a Madrid commuter town), and Jauría, which have won her numerous other awards, including the Max Prize, the Actors' Union Award, and four nominations for the Valle-Inclán Prize, named after the late 19th-century playwright behind such globally-renowned works as Luces de Bohemia ('Bohemian Lights').
María has written her own scripts, and adapted those of other playwrights and from novels, as well as directing, writing and producing at least 25 works of fiction for TV and film.
She graduated from the Cristina Rota Performing Arts School, and is currently three-quarters of the way through a degree in philosophy.
Business: Elisenda Bou-Balust
Due to turn 36 this year, Elisenda, from Barcelona, only just qualified for her Princess of Girona Award on age, but more than excelled in all the other criteria – she is described as a 'world icon' in science, technology and Artificial Intelligence, and as a rôle model for other young people, especially women, in her academic and business life.
She has worked with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Google, and NASA on applied AI for satellites, is co-founder and chief executive of the start-up Vilnyx which, after gaining US$15 million in funding, was the first going concern bought by Apple in Spain in 2020.
Elisenda Bou-Balust (second from right, between the Infanta Sofía and King Felipe) receiving the Princess of Girona Business Award 2022
Vilnyx still has its original team in Barcelona, and an AI hub out in the province was set up after its acquisition by Apple.
Elisenda is heavily involved in education, working to raise the profile of the so-called STEM subjects (sciences, technology, engineering and maths), and jointly founded a nanosatellite laboratory at Catalunya Polytechnic, which is now used annually by an average of 40 students, and has been teaching classes there herself for the past six years.
She has led four PhD programmes in industry through Vilnyx – programmes of her own design, which have now been incorporated into Apple's operations – and regularly takes part in the 'Women in STEM' scheme which seeks to promote these traditionally male-dominated subjects to females at secondary schools, colleges and universities.
Elisenda graduated in telecommunications engineering from Catalunya Polytechnic, then in electronics engineering from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria University, and researched her PhD through the MIT and Catalunya Polytechnic, being awarded the qualification jointly by both.
Social: Claudia Tecglen García
Another who only just squeezed into the age requirement – Claudia will be 36 later this year – her 'social impact' through 'encouraging equal opportunities' makes her an 'example', an 'inspiring rôle model', and an 'icon for other young adults', according to the Foundation.
A psychologist, Claudia, from the Madrid-region commuter town of Rivas-Vaciamadrid, was born with cerebral palsy, and is chairwoman of an association for others in her situation, founded in 2008 and which seeks to provide information, answer questions, and help members realise their full potential.
Psychologist Claudia Tecglen (in front of King Felipe) runs an association that acts as a one-stop information shop for people who, like her, have cerebral palsy, as well as providing counselling and helping them achieve their life and work goals. Claudia has helped raise the profile of people living with cerebral palsy, educating the public and dispelling ‘fake news’ about the condition. Here she is receiving her Princess of Girona Social Award
The association was created to help dispel widely-held myths about cerebral palsy, and has set up an online platform with extensive health, professional and social information for those who live with the condition, and provides counselling to members who are struggling and suffering setbacks.
Cerebral palsy is a motor disorder, affecting muscle tone and causing total or partial movement problems in various parts of the body, and to varying degrees. Claudia is shown on the video walking with a frame, and her professional and personal achievements are evidence that it is perfectly possible to lead a fulfilling, active life with cerebral palsy, provided you have the right information and tools to enable you to do it – which is where her association comes in.
Scientific Research: Eleonora Viezzer
Again just shy of her 36th birthday, Eleonora, born in the Austrian capital of Vienna, earned her bachelor's degree and, later, her PhD in Physics from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, Germany; she is now professor of physics at Sevilla University, where she conducts her research into nuclear fusion.
The main focus of her investigations is to attempt to solve the global energy crisis through confining plasma in a magnetic cage.
Dr Eleonora Viezzer's research seeks emissions-free power sources to solve the global energy crisis. This picture was taken by Sevilla University, where she is professor of physics
Researchers in this line across Europe are working with latest-generation ideas and technologies and playing a key part in the quest for harnessing sources of clean, everyday energy that do not require fossil fuel, a long-term project involving scientists from everywhere on the continent.
Dr Viezzer's contribution to this ongoing research has been considerable, developing new and revolutionary plasma diagnostics, and unravelling the laws of physics underlying fusion reactor confinement methods.
She has also written literally hundreds of articles on her subject, published in prestigious scientific journals, and already has a handful of international awards under her belt.
International: Trang Nguyen
One of the Princess of Girona awards always goes to someone based outside of Spain, and this year, the Vietnamese conservationist and author Dr Trang Nguyen, 32, has earned it for her 'brave and inspiring' work in 'preserving nature' at home and elsewhere in the world, according to the Foundation.
She has spent her career cultivating the link between human rights and nature conservation, and is committed to justice in both.
Dr Trang Nguyen has worked tirelessly for the protection of wild animals and the environment, at home in Vietnam and on other continents (photo: Nanook2018/Wikimedia Commons)
Fighting illegal trade of endangered species of wild animals and plants, battling to protect ecosystems crucial to maintaining biodiversity – especially in light of climate change – showing real leadership in raising environmental awareness through education, and her solidarity in helping tackle sexual abuse in the rural world makes her something of a trailblazer in south-east Asia, the FPdGi explains: Her research, her articles in pioneering scientific publications, her multi-disciplinary work, her contribution to major non-profit conservation and human rights associations worldwide, and her vast knowledge of nature and of environmental issues all over the planet mean Trang is seen as a 'conservation guru' in Vietnam and neighbouring nations.
Trang Nguyen (centre, in front of King Felipe and Queen Letizia) receives her Princess of Girona International Award. Every year, a prize is given to a candidate based outside Spain
Dr Nguyen has worked on various continents, and is founder and director of the charity WildAct Vietnam.
The FPdGi refers to Trang's 'motivation and hard work' in 'overcoming problems in life', which have made her 'an example for many young adults trying to follow their dreams and wondering how they will achieve them'.
“[Trang's] leadership in the community has given hope to hundreds of young people, especially women, to carry on working on wildlife conservation, by providing grants and other help for nature-lovers' research,” the Foundation explains.
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