The foundation representing Princess Leonor, the 20-year-old heir to the Spanish throne, has warned that scammers are using AI-generated videos of the princess posted on fake profile pages to scam social media users out of money.
In TikTok posts, “Leonor” promises users thousands of dollars in exchange for an upfront “fee” of several hundred dollars. Once you pay this “fee,” the scammer will typically keep asking for more until they disappear from sight.
A 2024 investigation by El Pais newspaper found that all the phone numbers used in the scam were from the Dominican Republic. Some videos have been viewed more than 1 million times, the paper said.
The website of the Princess of Asturias Foundation, which represents Leonor, says in a warning about the scam: “The Foundation does not have any programs that provide financial assistance, project grants, lottery tickets, or other monetary operations for the personal benefit of citizens.
“Similarly, the Princess of Asturias does not provide financial assistance through the Foundation, suggesting that messages and profiles suggesting the contrary are false.”
According to TikTok's rules, the platform does not allow “accounts that attempt to abuse or manipulate our platform or exchange of services that artificially increase interactions, including activities such as undercover operations to influence or replace an identity.”
But El Pais said that every time he complained to TikTok about the princess's identity theft, which was first discovered in December 2024, he received the same response: “We have determined that the reported content does not violate our regulations.”
Leonor is the eldest daughter of King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia. After Felipe became king following his father's abdication in 2014, Leonor assumed the titles of official heir to the throne: Princess of Asturias, Princess of Girona, Princess of Viana, Duchess of Mont Blanc, Countess of Cervera, and Madame Balaguer.
If she becomes queen, Leonor will be the first female ruler of Spain since Isabella II, who ruled from 1833 until her expulsion in 1868, and the only queen to rule a united Spain in her own right rather than by marriage.
Leonor is studying for the International Baccalaureate in Glamorgan, Wales, and will complete three years of military training this year in preparation for her role as Commander-in-Chief.
