Crown Princess Leonor Is Sharp in Her Military Uniform for the National Day of Spain Celebration
While sister Infanta Sofía slips into a chic red suit
Reported by Harper's Bazaar.
Spain's National Day has a way of turning the royal family into a full-on fashion moment — and this year's October 12 celebration at the Royal Palace in Madrid was no exception. According to Harper's Bazaar, Crown Princess Leonor arrived in full military dress uniform, a look that carried serious weight both symbolically and aesthetically.
The uniform was layered with meaning: the light blue sash of the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III — Spain's highest civilian honor — crossed her chest, while Grand Crosses of Military Merit, Naval Merit, and Aeronautical Merit, plus the Order of the Golden Fleece insignia, were pinned in place. Leonor completed a three-year military training program spanning the Spanish Army, Navy, and Air and Space Force between 2023 and July 2026, so this wasn't ceremonial costuming — it was earned. She kept accessories minimal: small diamond studs, hair braided back into a bun beneath her military cap. Clean, precise, deliberate.
The Rest of the Family Brought the Color
While Leonor commanded in blue and gold, the women flanking her chose a warmer palette. Infanta Sofía opted for a Tommy Hilfiger red suit styled with beige Mary Janes — preppy with a point. Queen Letizia, reliably the most considered dresser in the room, wore a baby-pink poplin midi from Madrid-based label the 2nd Skin Co., grounded with burgundy slingback kitten heels and a pearl-and-diamond brooch that once belonged to Queen Victoria Eugenie. The brooch wasn't a one-off — Letizia has been quietly cycling through the late queen's jewelry collection for major engagements, previously appearing in a historic tiara with diamond earrings, and diamond cuffs with a diamond bow brooch. It's a deliberate throughline, and it's working.
The family presided over a flag-honoring ceremony and military parade in the Plaza de Canovas del Castillo, with King Felipe VI alongside them — but the visual story of the day belonged to the women in his family, each fluent in a different register of royal dressing.
When a 20-something heir to the throne earns her medals and knows how to wear them, the uniform stops being a formality and starts being a statement.
Read the original at Harper's Bazaar.
