King Felipe VI

King Felipe succeeded to the throne on the abdication of his father Juan Carlos in June 2014. Born in 1968 when his father was heir-apparent to the vacant throne during the Franco dictatorship, Prince Felipe was educated for his future royal role, and undertook official engagements on behalf of the king from 1995.

Despite retaining considerable constitutional power as chief executive and commander-in-chief, King Felipe has pledged to continue his father's legacy of supporting the primacy of parliament.

King Juan Carlos won great public respect for the way he steered Spain to democracy after the death of General Franco in 1975, but the royal family's reputation was tarnished by a number of personal and financial scandals towards the end of his reign.

King Felipe, like his father, is a keen sailor and represented Spain at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992. He trained as a military pilot, has a degree in law, and studied diplomacy at Georgetown University. As heir to the throne he was active in promoting closer ties between Spanish-speaking countries, and has toured Latin America widely.

The King is married to Queen Letizia, a former journalist, and they have two daughters.