The hair accessory that Queen Letizia of Spain wore to say goodbye to Princess Leonor over the weekend resembled one that her younger daughter, Infanta Sofia, wore years ago. One eagle-eyed social media user spotted the similarity, believing that Her Majesty was wearing the gold headband that Sofia wore to Leonor's First Communion back in 2015.
"I love it!! A way to have both of them present," one X user replied to the post (translated to english). "The smaller the gestures, the greater the meaning," another wrote in part (translated to English).
While it's unclear if it's the exact same gold leaf motif headband from a decade ago, the two do look similar. The Spanish Queen accessorized her blue pantsuit and pussy-bow blouse with the accessory on Jan. 11, 2025.
Letizia and Felipe bid farewell to their daughter Princess Leonor on Saturday before she set sail onboard the Juan Sebastián de Elcano training ship. The 19 year old "will experience life at sea first-hand and become familiar with seafaring traditions" during her voyage, which, according to Casa de S.M. el Rey, will last "approximately five months."
Two days before Leonor arrived at the port of Cádiz to join the crew as a first-class midshipman, His Majesty said that his firstborn would be "embarking on the Training Ship Juan Sebastián de Elcano, as I myself did 38 years ago, and beginning her 17th training cruise. An experience, dear Leonor, that will surely remain - as it happened to me (and also to your grandfather) - among your best memories of military training."
The Princess of Asturias is in the second year of her three-year military training. After completing her naval training, the future Queen will finish her military training “in the Air and Space Army, joining the San Javier General Air Academy for the 2025-2026 academic year as Ensign Student.”
Like Leonor, Infanta Sofia is also away from home. The King and Queen's 17-year-old daughter is currently studying at UWC Atlantic. Sofia began her studies at the school in Wales months after her older sister graduated from it in 2023.