His birth, which ensured the male succession to the Crown, was a dynastic event whose importance was emphasized in the symbolic names he was given at his christening (Felipe, Juan, Pablo and Alfonso de Todos los Santos), the names of the first Bourbon to reign in Spain; his father's and mother's fathers, (Juan de Borbon, the Count of Barcelona and King Paul of Greece); and his great grandfather King Alfonso XIII.
Heir to the throne since the proclamation of his father as King in 1975, in 1977 he received the title of Prince of Asturias, together with those of Prince of Girona and Viana[?], the titles vested in the heirs to the thrones of the kingdoms of Castile, Aragon and Navarre, whose union in the 15th century created the Spanish monarchy.
From 1987 to 1993 Prince Felipe studied at Madrid's Autonomous University, where he took a degree in law, and also attended courses on economics. Recently he was working on a master's degree in international relations at Georgetown University, in Washington, DC. He was a member of the Olympic sailing team in the Barcelona Games in 1992, and took part in the opening ceremony as the Spanish team's standard bearer.
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