The changing of the guard

Felipe VI assumed the throne of Spain at the stroke of midnight after his father, Juan Carlos I, abdicated in the early evening of June 18th 2014.  But while the actual moment of his accession was private, the first day of his reign was filled with events to mark the occasion.  First thing in the morning, he met his father at the Zarzuela Palace, where King Juan Carlos presented King Felipe VI with the sash of the head of the Armed Forces - a role that now belongs to the new king.

Felipe VI assumes the role of head of the Armed Forces of Spain as king and his father presented him with the sash that signifies his new role

The two queens of Spain were also present at the ceremony as were the new king's daughters, the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Sofia, and the daughter of the old king, the Infanta Elena, and her son, Felipe Juan Froilan.

King Juan Carlos and Felipe VI before the handing over of the sash as Queen Sofia and Queen Letizia watch on

And then it was time for the new king and queen to leave the palace for the Spanish Parliament where Felipe VI would be sworn in as monarch and make the first speech of his reign.

Felipe VI leads the new royal family of Spain out of the Zarzuela Palace on their way to the parliament for his official proclamation

Daddy's girls

Three days before he becomes King of Spain, Prince Felipe has been seen in new photos with his two daughters, Leonor and Sofia.  The images were released by the Royal Household less than seventy two hours before the girls go from being daughters of a prince to heiresses to a throne.

The man who will soon be Felipe VI with his daughters, Leonor and Sofia, in an image released on June 16th 2014

The photos were taken on August 1st 2012 as part of the set that marked the 40th birthday of Princess Letizia.  The princess isn't in these images which show Felipe with his heiress and her heiress.  They were tweeted to the 113,000 followers of the Casa Real account at the same time as they were released on the royal website.

A proud father and his daughters - Felipe, Leonor and Sofia

Here come the girls...

For the first time in a long time, well ever, Europe has more queens in waiting that kings.  As Leonor of Spain prepares to become Princess of Asturias, first in line to the throne and the youngest heir in waiting on the continent she also changes history in one more way.  For as she takes on the mantle of next in line to her country's crown, she brings the number of women waiting for a throne to five with just three chaps first in line.  Here come the girls...

History in the making for Leonor of Spain

The Infanta Leonor y Todos los Santos is the youngest.  The oldest is the first woman to be entitled to a crown no matter what - the Crown Princess of Sweden.  Victoria Ingrid Alice Desiree, born in 1977, was first in line at birth, dropped briefly to second while the succession laws were changed after the arrival of her brother, and has occupied the top spot since 1980.  She is also the first woman to have a female heiress who will succeed regardless of future siblings.  Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary was born in 2012 as second in line to her country's throne.

Victoria of Sweden is the oldest female heir to the throne

And it's a wide ranging change of laws across Europe that has made the next generation of monarchs an almost exclusively female club.  Forty years ago, most of the women waiting in line to succeed to their country's throne would have been passed over for younger brothers or had no succession rights at all because of their country's rules on who could become monarch. The Belgian heiress - Elisabeth Therese Marie Helene, Duchess of Brabant - will be queen one day but was the first princess born in her country to be guaranteed the right to take the throne, let alone be first in line.  The law change of 1991 which granted women dynastic rights also did away with any idea of men overtaking women.  It means that Elisabeth, like Leonor and Victoria, is guaranteed to wear her country's crown.

Elisabeth of the Belgians, a queen in waiting

As is Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands who, until June 19th 2014, remains Europe's youngest heir to the throne.  The Princess of Orange is the eldest of the three daughters born to King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima but even if she does get a little brother, the law in her country guarantees her right to succeed as the eldest child of the monarch.  It means that the Netherlands will have another queen regnant following the reign of her father, the first king of his country since the 1890s.

Amalia of the Netherlands is currently Europe's youngest heir to the throne

Also in line to be queen one day is Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, eldest child of the current heir to the Norwegian throne, Haakon Magnus.  Like Elisabeth of Belgium, she would have had no succession rights at all without a law change but the rules now give her country's crown to a first born child, no matter what.  And the laws in Denmark and the United Kingdom are now the same but unlike the rest of Europe's monarchies, the first borns in those two countries are all men.  It means that in years to come, Prince Christian and Charles, then William, then George, are likely to be outnumbered.  Here come the girls.