Felipe was born at Our Lady of Loreto Clinic in Madrid, the third child and only son of Infante Juan Carlos of Spain and Princess Sofía of Greece and Denmark. He was baptized on 8 February 1968 at the Palace of Zarzuela by the Archbishop of Madrid, Casimiro Morcillo, with water from the Jordan River. His full baptismal name, Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos, consists of the names of the first Bourbon King of Spain (Felipe V), his grandfathers (Infante Juan of Spain and King Paul of Greece), his great-grandfather King Alfonso XIII of Spain, and de Todos los Santos as is customary among the Bourbons. His godparents were his paternal grandfather Juan and his paternal great-grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenie of Spain.
Shortly after his birth he was styled infante, although his father was not yet king. The ruling dictator Generalísimo Francisco Franco died just over two months before Felipe's eighth birthday, and Felipe's father ascended the throne. In his first official appearance, Felipe attended his father's proclamation as king on 22 November 1975.
Education
From 1984 to 1985 he studied at a private school in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada. In 1986, on his 18th birthday, Felipe swore allegiance to Juan Carlos and was officially named heir to the throne. Having received training (1985–88) at each of Spain’s armed service academies, Felipe was commissioned as an officer in the army, navy, and air force and was certified as a helicopter pilot. He was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the 1992 Games in Barcelona, where he finished sixth in the Soling event. After earning a law degree (1993) from Madrid’s Autonomous University, he received a master’s degree (1995) in international relations from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
On 2 June 2014, King Juan Carlos announced his intent to abdicate in Felipe's favour. As required by the Constitution of Spain, the Spanish Cabinet began deliberations the following day on an organic law to give effect to the abdication. The law had to be passed by a majority of all members of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (Parliament). According to Jesús Posada, the President of the Congress of Deputies, Felipe could have been proclaimed king as early as 18 June. On 4 June, El País of Madrid reported that Felipe would indeed be proclaimed king on 18 June.
Felipe ascended the throne at the stroke of midnight on 19 June; his father had given his sanction to the organic law effecting his abdication just hours earlier. The next morning, after receiving the Captain General's sash from his father, he was formally sworn in and proclaimed king in a low-key ceremony held in the Cortes. He swore to uphold the Constitution before formally being proclaimed king by Posada. Upon his accession, he became the youngest monarch in Europe, being nine months younger than King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
As king, Felipe has fairly extensive reserve powers on paper. He is the guardian of the Constitution, and is responsible for ensuring it is obeyed. While he is nominally chief executive, it was expected that he would follow his father's practice of taking a mostly ceremonial and representative role, acting largely on the advice of the government. He indicated as much in a speech to the Cortes on the day of his enthronement, saying that he would be "a loyal head of state who is ready to listen and understand, warn and advise as well as to defend the public interest at all times". A poll conducted by El País, however, indicates that a majority of Spaniards wish Felipe would play a greater role in politics, with 75% of the 600 people surveyed stating they would approve if he personally pushed the political parties to reach agreements on national problems. According to an El Mundo newspaper poll, Felipe had a greater approval than his father prior to his reign.
The elections in 2015 resulted in no party winning enough seats to form a government. No agreements with the different parties were successful. After months of talks with the different party leaders, and with there being no apparent candidate in a position of support in forming a government, a royal decree was issued dissolving parliament with new elections being called in June. This marked the first time since the transition to democracy that an election was called under Article 99.5 of the Constitution, wherein the initiative for issuing the dissolution of the Cortes belonged to the King and not to the Prime Minister.
On 3 October 2017, as huge protest rallies and a general strike took place in Catalonia following the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, Felipe delivered an unusually strongly worded televised address in which he condemned the actions of the referendum organizers for acting "outside the law", accusing them of "unacceptable disloyalty" and of "eroding the harmony and co-existence within Catalan society itself". He also warned the referendum could put the economy of the entire north-east region of Spain at risk. Reactions to his speech were mixed. Party officials from the PP and Ciudadanos acclaimed the King's "commitment to legality", whereas leaders from Unidos Podemos and Catalunya en Comú criticized it as "as unworthy as it was irresponsible", paving the way for a harsh intervention of the Catalan autonomy. As for the PSOE, its leaders showed their support to the King's words in public, but were unofficially upset that the King had not made any call to understanding or dialogue between both the Spanish and Catalan governments.
He became the youngest monarch in Europe, being nine months younger than King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
Politics
Felipe has made many official visits to Europe and Latin America, as well as to countries in the Arab world, the Far East, and Australia, maintaining a special interest in all matters relating to the European Union, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa. Since January 1996, Felipe has represented the Spanish State at many Latin American presidents' inauguration ceremonies. As Prince, he visited every country in Latin America except Cuba, and made over 200 foreign trips in total. Felipe has also played a very active role in promoting Spain's economic, commercial and cultural interests and the Spanish language abroad. He frequently represents Spain at world economic and trade events (e.g. Expotecnia, Expoconsumo, and Expohabitat), and is especially interested in promoting the creation of Centres and University Chairs to advance the study of Spain both historically and in the present-day at major foreign universities.
Views
In June 2014, Felipe and Letizia became the first Spanish monarch and consort to receive and recognize LGBT organizations at the Palace. Felipe also changed the protocol in order to allow people to take the oath of office without a crucifix or Bible. In their first overseas trip as monarchs, Felipe VI and Queen Letizia met Pope Francis in the Apostolic Palace on 30 June 2014. They subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by Mgsr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with States. The visit followed one by King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía on 28 April. On 18 July, the new king chaired his first meeting of the Council of Ministers.
In February 2015, Felipe announced he would cut his annual salary by 20% as a result of the economic recession and hardships continuing to hamper Spain.
Membership
In addition to his official activities, Felipe serves as Honorary President of several associations and foundations, such as the Codespa Foundation, which finances economic and social development in Ibero-America and other countries, and the Spanish branch of the Association of European Journalists, comprising outstanding communications professionals. Most noteworthy is the Príncipe de Asturias Foundation, where he presides annually at the international awards ceremony of the highly prestigious Princess of Asturias Awards (formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards).
Felipe was appointed a "UN-Eminent Person" by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2001, during its International Year of Volunteers, and continues to make contributions internationally towards enhancing the importance of voluntary work.
Personality
Felipe speaks Spanish, Catalan, French, English and some Greek.
Felipe was a member of the Spanish Olympic sailing team at the Barcelona Games in 1992. Felipe took part in the opening ceremony as the Spanish team's flag bearer. The Spanish crew finished in sixth place in the Soling class and obtained an Olympic diploma.
He has been a supporter of Atletico Madrid since watching them win the 1976 Copa del Generalísimo Final. He is also the club's honorary president since 2003.
He, himself 197 cm (6 ft 5 1⁄2 in) in height, has attended Spanish, European, and Olympic basketball championships.
Felipe also attended the Spanish national rugby union team's final home rugby union match in the 2018 Rugby Europe Championship.
He has travelled to many countries, one of his chief roles being to promote Spanish business interests and culture globally.
Connections
In 2004, Felipe married TV news journalist Letizia Ortiz with whom he has two daughters, Leonor (his heir presumptive) and Sofía.
Spouse:
Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano
(m. 2004)
Daugher:
Leonor, Princess of Asturias
Daughter:
Infanta Sofía of Spain
References
La maldicion de los borbones. De la locura de Felipe V a la encrucijada de Felipe VI (Spanish Edition)
Un fascinante libro de Historia lleno de historias sorprendentes...Desde el primer Borbon hasta el actual principe de Asturias este libro es una invitacion a recorrer las pequenas y grandes tragedias que han azotado a esta dinastia. Enfermedad, locura, voracidad sexual, endogamia... son solo algunos de los estigmas que jalonan la cronica de los Borbones, repleta de contratiempos, escandalos y extranas muertes. Desde la psicopatia de Felipe V hasta la ninfomania de Isabel II; desde la calamidad de los infantes y reyes llamados Alfonso hasta los trece -trece!- Borbones que murieron en la Guerra Civil; desde el fatidico accidente que causo la muerte del hermano del actual rey hasta la transgresion que ha supuesto para la monarquia espanola el matrimonio del principe Felipe con dona Letizia, el lector desentranara las claves de una maldicionque ha cambiado el rumbo politico de nuestro pais. Con estilo ameno y riguroso, Jose Maria Zavala indaga en las razones de tanta fatalidad y se pregunta hasta que punto han conseguido esquivarla los Borbones del siglo XXI.
La corte de Felipe VI (Actualidad) (Spanish Edition) - Kindle edition by Daniel Forcada, Alberto Lardiés. Politics & Social Sciences Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Amigos, enemigos y validos pululan en el entorno más cercano de Felipe VI y la reina Letizia y constituyen, en el sentido más amplio de la palabra, la corte de los nuevos reyes de España. Unos reyes que se han empeñado en regenerar la institución, apartar del primer plano a las ovejas negras de la familia y marcar distancias con el funcionamiento opaco que caracterizó la era de don Juan Carlos. Este es el retrato en crudo de una familia desestructurada, recelosa entre sí, en la que unos intrigan contra otros, y unida por un único objetivo: la supervivencia de la Corona. En estas páginas se detallan todos los círculos concéntricos que giran en torno a los inquilinos de La Zarzuela. Desde los amigos de la jet set y la alta sociedad que han acompañado a Felipe cuando estudiaba en el Colegio de Los Rosales y que nunca han terminado de entenderse con doña Letizia, hasta sus compañeros del mundo del deporte, la vela y el empresariado, pasando por los altos cargos que trabajan en palacio. Todos ellos, algunos desconocidos para el gran público, forman parte de la esfera de confesores y consejeros del nuevo monarca, un hombre prudente y poco campechano. Este es un libro sobre la corte, pero no un libro cortesano. En sus páginas el lector encontrará palabras inesperadas –«¿Acaso soy el único español que no se puede divorciar?»–, pactos soterrados, venganzas familiares y otros muchos secretos sobre los amigos del hombre y los hombres del rey.
