Prince of Asturias

"Principe de Asturias" redirects here. For the former flagship, see Principe de Asturias (R11). For the ocean liner, see Príncipe de Asturias (ocean liner).

See also: Princess of Asturias

Princess of Asturias Princesa de Asturias
Coat of Arms of the Heir to the Spanish throne
The Standard of the Princess of Asturias, Leonor
Incumbent Leonor, Princess of Asturias since 19 June 2014
Style	Her Royal Highness Doña
Residence	The Prince’s Pavilion at the Zarzuela Palace
Appointer	The King of Spain
Term length	Life tenure or until accession as Queen of Spain
Inaugural holder	Henry III of Castile
Formation	1388

Prince or Princess of Asturias (Spanish: Príncipe de Asturias, Asturian: Príncipe d'Asturies) under the Spanish Constitution of 1978, is the historical and official title given to the heir to the Spanish throne. It was also the title under the earlier Crown of Castile. The current heir to the Spanish throne, therefore Princess of Asturias is Leonor, Princess of Asturias, daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain. Other associated titles originate from some of the other kingdoms that formed Spain: Prince of Viana (for Navarre), Prince of Girona (for Aragon), Duke of Montblanc (for Catalonia), Count of Cervera (for Valencia) and Lord of Balaguer (for Majorca).

Military dictator Francisco Franco appointed Juan Carlos de Borbón as his "successor with the title of King" but gave him the new title of Prince of Spain instead of Prince of Asturias.

King Felipe VI, during his tenure as Prince of Asturias, instituted what is now called the Princess of Asturias Awards, since the incumbent heir to the Spanish throne is Princess Leonor.

Príncipe de Asturias Peak in Vinson Massif, Antarctica is named after the Prince of Asturias.

History

After the death of King Peter of Castile in 1369, the kingdom was drawn yet deeper in a civil war, disputes and long rivalled between English claimant, John, Duke of Lancaster, and two successive Trastámara claimants, Kings Henry II of Castile and his son John I of Castile. After two decades of conflicts of varying intensity, the parties arrived at compromise through means of marriage: the future Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) was married to Catherine of Lancaster in 1388. A part of the pact ("Accord of Bayonne") was to elevate the young couple to a title, Prince and Princess of Asturias, which was modelled after that of Prince of Wales in England. The title was to belong to the official successor of the Castilian throne. Thus the first Prince and Princess of Asturias were the young Henry of Castile and Catherine of Lancaster.

In the first years the title was not only honorary, as it included the ownership of the territory of Asturias; the Prince ruled the Principality in representation of the King and was able to appoint judges, mayors, etc. This was changed by the Catholic Monarchs, who limited the scope of the title making it merely honorary; this decision was upheld by the members of the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon until the present day.

List

Image	Name	Heir to	From	Until
				Year	Cause
75px	Henry of Castile (1379–1406)	John I (father)	1388	1390	ascended the throne as Henry III
80px	John of Castile (1405–1454)	Henry III (father)	1405	1406	ascended the throne as John II
	Henry of Castile (1425–1474)	John II (father)	1425	1454	ascended the throne as Henry IV
	Alfonso of Castile (1453–1468)	Henry IV (half-sibling)	1465	1468	died
80px	John of Aragon (1478–1497)	Isabella I (mother)	1480	1497	died
80px	Charles of Austria (1500–1558)	Joanna (mother)	1504	1516	ascended the throne as Charles I
	Philip of Austria (1527–1598)	Charles I and Joanna (father and grandmother)	1528	1556	ascended the throne as Philip II
	Carlos of Austria (1545–1568)	Philip II (father)	1560	1568	died
	Ferdinand of Austria (1571–1578)		1573	1578	died
	Diego of Austria (1575–1582)		1580	1582	died
80px	Philip of Austria (1578–1621)		1584	1598	ascended the throne as Philip III
	Philip of Austria (1605–1665)	Philip III (father)	1608	1621	ascended the throne as Philip IV
	Balthasar Charles of Austria (1629–1646)	Philip IV (father)	1632	1646	died
	Philip Prosper of Austria (1657–1661)		1658	1661	died
	Charles of Austria (1661–1700)		1661	1665	ascended the throne as Charles II
80px	Louis (1707–1724)	Philip V (father)	1709	1724	ascended the throne as Louis I
80px	Ferdinand (1713–1759)		1724	1746	ascended the throne as Ferdinand VI
80px	Charles (1716–1788)	Charles III (father)	1760	1788	ascended the throne as Charles IV
80px	Ferdinand (1784–1833)	Charles IV (father)	1789	1808	ascended the throne as Ferdinand VII
	Isabella (1830–1904)	Ferdinand VII (father)	1830 (1833)	1833	ascended the throne as Isabella II
80px	Isabella (1851–1931)	Isabella II (mother)	1851	1857	Displaced by the birth of her brother
80px	Alfonso (1857–1885)	Isabella II (mother)	1857	1868	mother's deposition
80px	Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy (1869–1931)	Amadeus	1871	1873	father's abdication
	Isabella (1851–1931)	Alfonso XII (brother)	1875	1880	displaced
80px	Maria de las Mercedes (1880–1904)	Alfonso XII (father) Alfonso XIII (Brother)	1880 1886	1885 1904	Ascended the throne as "Queen in Name" temporarily, and on the birth of her younger brother, reverted until her death in childbirth.
80px	Alfonso (1907–1938)	Alfonso XIII (father)	1907	1933	renounced his succession rights
	Juan (1913–1993)		1933	1941	Recognized as heir apparent to the Spanish throne and held the title in pretense from 21 June 1933, but preferred to use the title Count of Barcelona; renounced his claim to the throne in favor of his son, Juan Carlos on 14 May 1977
80px	Felipe (1968–)	Juan Carlos I (father)	1977	2014	ascended the throne as Felipe VI
	Leonor (2005–)	Felipe VI (father)	2014	Incumbent

See also

• Asturias
• Asturias, Cebu, Philippines
• Prince of Spain
• Princess of Asturias
• Monarchy of Spain
• Princess of Asturias Awards
• Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias
• List of titles and honours of the Heir Apparent to the Spanish Throne

External links

• The title of Prince of Asturias (in Spanish)