Queen Letizia of Spain visited two schools in Rincón de Soto, in the La Rioja region, on Friday to preside over ceremonial openings for the 2025–2026 school year as the country’s pupils returned to class.
Some 28,748 schools across Spain reopened this week, welcoming 8,289,090 students and 793,215 teachers, according to figures released by the Spanish authorities. Letizia attended events at the Entresotos Early Childhood and Primary Education Center and the Gonzalo de Berceo Secondary Education Institute section where she took part in classroom activities, performances and a photograph with pupils.
Letizia, 52, wore a blue button-down shirt and wide-legged cropped trousers with low-heeled black patent sling-back sandals. Her visit followed the programme published by the Spanish Royal Family, which said the queen "presided over the opening of the 2025/2026 School Year" at the two institutions.
On arrival at Entresotos, Letizia was greeted by regional and local officials, including the President of the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, Gonzalo Capellán; the national Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Pilar Alegría; the President of the Parliament of La Rioja, Marta Fernández Cornago; and the mayor of Rincón de Soto, Javier Martínez. She visited an early childhood classroom and was introduced to the Bee-Bot activity, a small bee-shaped educational robot designed for early childhood learning.
At the school library, a group of children aged seven to 10 led a reading activity for the queen and presented her with three books written by former students. In the music room, pupils performed the song "Ama, ama y ensancha el alma" ("Love, Love and Broaden the Soul"). Letizia also attended a workshop where third-grade students demonstrated an interactive group activity and met teachers in the gymnasium.
The visit concluded with a group photograph taken in the school courtyard with pupils from both the Entresotos centre and the Gonzalo de Berceo secondary section. King Felipe and the couple’s daughters, Crown Princess Leonor and Princess Sofia, did not accompany Letizia to the events.
The queen’s attendance at the openings continues a longstanding practice in which members of the Spanish royal family take part in official ceremonies to mark the start of the academic year. The visits typically include classroom demonstrations, cultural activities and meetings with local education authorities and school staff.