Images of Spain's Princess Leonor on a beach in Uruguay emerge

BarcelonaPhotographs of Princess Leonor of Spain wearing a bikini and sunglasses on a beach in Uruguay have come to light. They were published this Wednesday by the Spanish magazine Diez Minutos and show the heir to the Spanish throne during a day of rest on the ramp of the training ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano in Montevideo. In the images, which date back to March 6, the princess is seen having a good time with friends on a beach near the hotel where she was staying. During the trip to Uruguay, Leonor led a group of Spanish citizens swearing allegiance to the national flag and visited a shopping center in the Uruguayan capital. The photographs taken that day were the ones that circulated and angered the royal family. Just a few days ago, the Spanish embassy in Chile denounced the dissemination of images of Princess Leonor in a shopping center in Punta Arenas.

The exclusivity and price of the images

After weeks of speculation about the publication of these photographs -royal house expert Mariángel Alcázar claims that the Zarzuela Palace was aware of the existence of the images- the images have finally seen the light. "The photographs were taken by a paparazzi on a beach in Montevideo. The Zarzuela Palace confirmed to those of us who work with the royal household that the images existed, and that they would come to light when a media outlet was willing to pay this man [the photographer] the amount he was asking for, 200,000 euros," she explained.

Alcázar denied that the royal household had tried to stop the publication of the report. "Neither the queen nor the king are worried about photos of their daughter in a bikini, nor would they be if it would be photos of her kissing because she's a 19-year-old girl who's already going through enough trouble without being able to enjoy herself," she emphasized.

During her months on board the military training ship (when she inherits the throne she will be the head of the Spanish army) rumours about romantic liaisons with some of her classmates have regularly appeared. A piece of news, later denied by several celebrity magazines, claimed there were images of the princess kissing a male companion during the Carnival in Salvador de Bahía (Brazil), the ship's first stop on the South American continent.

Leonor de Borbón sails aboard the Juan Sebastián de Elcano, where she is training with her colleagues to become a Naval officer. The group participates in cultural, social, and military events at each port of call, representing both the Spanish Navy and Spain. On board, they take classes in navigation, meteorology, cybersecurity, English, and logistics, among other subjects. They also participate in maneuvers and the general preparation of the ship, which is sailing across the Pacific toward Chile. The journey is expected to last another three months and will stop in Peru, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and New York.