The Prince or Princess of Girona (
Catalan: Príncep o Princesa de Girona,
Spanish: Príncipe o Princesa de Gerona) is one of the titles of the heir of the
Crown of Spain. The title was historically accorded to the
heir apparent or
heir presumptive to the
Crown of Aragon. Current legislation mandates the title of
Prince of Asturias to the heir of the Spanish throne but allows for the use of other traditional titles; the current title-holder, therefore, is
Leonor, Princess of Girona.
In part I of the Constitucions i Altres Drets de Cathalunya, the section headed Genealogia dels Reys d'Aragó i Comtes de Barcelona speaks of the genealogy of
John I of Aragon, son of Peter IV, saying that John and
Violant had a son named James, "lo qual intitularen Delphi [Dauphin] de Girona". On 19 February 1416,
Ferdinand I of Aragon, considering the title of duke insufficient, raised it to the rank of Principality of Girona.[1] However, these titles fell into gradual disuse until the 20th century as the heir of the King of Spain became better known by the hereditary title of the
Crown of Castile, "
Prince of Asturias."
Modern usage
In 1961, when announcing the wedding the future
Juan Carlos I of Spain and
Sofia of Greece, the Spanish Royal House issued the young prince, as titles of pretense, the style of "Prince of Asturias," "Prince of Girona," and "
Prince of Viana" — these three titles referring to his status as
heir apparent to the kingdoms of
Castile,
Aragon and
Navarre respectively. He started using the titles of "Prince of Girona" on his passport during the rule of
caudillo Franco, to avoid the more contentious title
Prince of Asturias which was well known to be reserved for the heir of the throne of Spain. His father had adopted a similar tactic, styling himself
Juan, Count of Barcelona; using the title of
King of Spain would have been seen as directly subversive of the
Francoist state. However, calling himself
Count of Barcelona was a clear attempt at asserting his hereditary rights to then defunct Spanish throne, as there had been no Count of Barcelona who was not either King of Aragon or of Spain since the Middle Ages.
When Juan Carlos was finally given an official capacity in the Spanish state as heir to the kingdom by General Franco, he received the title of "Prince of Spain" and thus began to use this until he became King of Spain. On 21 January 1977 his son,
Felipe, would be the first to use all of these titles in any official capacity for over 250 years.
With the accession of Felipe to the throne in 2014, his elder daughter Leonor became Princess of Girona, as heiress presumptive to the throne of Aragon.
The Princess of Girona Foundation was created in 2009 and is now run on behalf of Princess Leonor: it funds programmes to aid young people.[2]
^Thus, there has never been a "Principality of Girona" independent of the Crown of Aragon. The city of Girona and its surrondings were part of the
Principality of Catalonia.[citation needed]
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