Princess Leonor, the first child of Crown Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia and herself in line to be queen, was baptized on Saturday. She flinched and squirmed a bit but did not cry as water was poured on her forehead. The ceremony was attended by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia, the 2-month-old's grandparents and godparents, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and other senior Spanish officials.
Princess Letizia, a former TV anchorwoman, held her daughter as the archbishop of Madrid baptized her at the Zarzuela Palace, the king's residence, with water from the River Jordan. The snoozing Leonor flinched and raised a hand to her forehead but did not cry and appeared to fall right back asleep.
Leonor was born on Oct. 31 and immediately became second in line to inherit the throne, after her father. Her birth added urgency to a debate on eliminating pro-male bias from the Spanish constitution's rules on royal succession.
As it stands now, Leonor would be overtaken in the line of succession if her parents eventually have a son. This is because the constitution favors the first-born male, even if he has an elder sister. Zapatero's Socialist government says it wants to amend the constitution to do away with this clause.
Prince Felipe has two elder sisters, princesses Elena and Cristina. But the government says the amendment would not be retroactive even if passed while King Juan Carlos remains on the throne, meaning Felipe and not his eldest sister, Elena would still be first in line to become the next monarch, reports the AP.
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