Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba

The Duchess of Alba
18th Duchess of Alba (more...)
Memorial to the Duchess of Alba, Seville
Duchess of Alba
Tenure 18 February 1955 – 20 November 2014
Predecessor Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba
Successor Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba
Full name
María del Rosario Cayetana Paloma Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Fernanda Teresa Francisca de Paula Lourdes Antonia Josefa Fausta Rita Castor Dorotea Santa Esperanza Fitz-James Stuart, Silva, Falcó y Gurtubay
Born (1926-03-28)28 March 1926
Liria Palace, Madrid, Spain
Baptised 18 April 1926
Royal Chapel, Royal Palace of Madrid
Died 20 November 2014(2014-11-20) (aged 88)
Palace of the Dukes of Alba, Seville, Spain
Noble family FitzJames
Alba
Spouse(s) Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz (m. 1947; dec. 1972)
Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate (m. 1978; dec. 2001)
Alfonso Díez Carabantes
(m. 2011)
Issue
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba
Alfonso Martínez de Irujo, 18th Duke of Hijar
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 23rd Count of Siruela
Fernando Martínez de Irujo, 11th Marquis of San Vicente del Barco
Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, 4th Duke of Arjona & 13th Count of Salvatierra
Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, 12th Duchess of Montoro
Father Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba
Mother María del Rosario de Silva, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco
Signature
Religion Roman Catholicism

María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba, GE, OIC, OSH, DOA, OAX, OSG, OPC (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014), was head of the House of Alba and the third woman to hold the dukedom of Alba in her own right.

Born at Liria Palace on 28 March 1926, she was the only child of the 17th Duke of Alba (a prominent Spanish politician and diplomat during the 1930s and 1940s) by his wife, María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco. Her godmother was Queen Victoria Eugenie, wife of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

As head of the dynasty, she was styled by her most senior title of "Duchess of Alba", whilst holding over 40 other hereditary titles.[1] According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.[2]

Via her descent from James FitzJames, she was King James II of England's senior illegitimate-line descendant.

She was inducted into Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame[3] in 2011.

Life and family

On 12 October 1947, the Duchess married Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz (1919–1972), son of the Duke of Sotomayor.[4] The wedding in Spain, two years after the World War II, resisted the decline in frequency of very extravagant European weddings among high nobility and attracted the attention of the international media. The New York Times called it "the most expensive wedding of the world."[5] It was reported that 20 million pesetas (equivalent to $10,000,000 rounded in 2015) was spent. Six children were born of this marriage who were conferred noble titles by their mother, in accordance with Spanish protocol, including the rank of Grandee of Spain.

    • Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, later 19th Duke of Alba (born 2 October 1948, Madrid). In 1988, he married Matilde Solís-Beaumont y Martínez-Campos, but they later divorced. Together they had two children:
      • Fernando Fitz-James Stuart y Solís, later 15th Duke of Huéscar (born 14 September 1990 at Madrid).
      • Carlos Arturo José María Fitz-James Stuart y Solís (born 29 November 1991 at Madrid).
    • Alfonso Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Híjar (born 22 October 1950, Madrid). On 4 July 1977 he married Princess María de la Santísima Trinidad of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 8 April 1957), whom he later divorced. Together they have two children:
      • Luis Martínez de Irujo y Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 29 May 1978), 19th Duque of Aliaga. He married Adriana Marín Huarte on 1 October 2016.[6] They have one child.
        • Mencía Martínez de Irujo y Marín (born 2018).[7]
      • Javier Martínez de Irujo y Hohenlohe-Langenburg (born 9 January 1981), 19th Marquess of Almenara. He married sherry heiress Inés Domecq y Fernández-Govantes in 2008.[8] They have two children.
        • Sol Martínez de Irujo y Domecq (born 2011).[9]
        • Alfonso Martínez de Irujo y Domecq (born 2013).[10]
    • Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 23rd Count of Siruela (born 15 July 1954, Madrid). On 1 November 1980, he married María Eugenia Fernández de Castro y Fernández-Shaw (born 15 October 1954), but they later divorced. He remarried journalist, editor and writer Inka Martí Kiemann in April 2004. Jacobo and María Eugenia have two children:
      • Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Fernández de Castro (born 23 January 1981). He married Asela Pilar Pérez Becerril on 14 May 2011.[11] Co-owners of an art gallery. They had a daughter and a son.
        • Asela Fitz-James Stuart y Pérez (born 2012).
        • Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Pérez (born 2015).[12][13]
      • Brianda Eugenia Fitz-James Stuart y Fernández de Castro (born 11 April 1984).
    • Fernando Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart, 11th Marquis of San Vicente del Barco (born 11 July 1959).
    • Cayetano Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart, 4th Duke of Arjona, 13th Count of Salvatierra (born 4 April 1963, Madrid). In October 2005, after a five-year relationship, he married Genoveva Casanova y González from Mexico (daughter of Kenneth Larry Casanova and his first wife Mariana González y Reimann). They separated in 2007, but have twin children:
      • Luis Martínez de Irujo y Casanova (born 25 October 2001).
      • Amina Martínez de Irujo y Casanova (born 25 October 2001).
    • Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, 12th Duchess of Montoro, born 26 November 1968. On 23 October 1998, she married bullfighter Francisco Rivera Ordóñez of the Ordóñez bullfighting dynasty. The couple divorced in 2002. On November 17, 2017, Eugenia married secondly Narcís Rebollo Melció, President of Universal Music Spain and Portugal, at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eugenia and Francisco have one child:
      • Cayetana Rivera y Martínez de Irujo (born 16 October 1999).

Widowed in 1972, the Duchess remarried first on 16 March 1978 to Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate (1934–2001), a Doctor of Theology and a former Jesuit priest. The wedding caused shock; Aguirre was illegitimate, which carried a stigma among the wealthy and devout in 1970s Spain.[14] Eight years younger than the Duchess, he maintained a good relationship with her children. During their marriage he administered, with his stepson Carlos, the Alba estates.[15] Aguirre died in 2001.

The Duchess (left) horse riding with Bullfighter Ángel Peralta in 1961

The re-widowed Duchess expressed her wish to marry Alfonso Díez Carabantes in the 2000s, a civil servant who separately had a public relations business, 24 years her junior. It was reported objections came from her children and from King Juan Carlos. The House of Alba in 2008 issued a statement saying that the relationship "was based on a long friendship and there are no plans to marry".[14][16] The duchess decided to proceed and gave her children their inheritance which included majestic palaces in Spain, paintings by old and modern masters (from Fra Angelico, Titian and Goya to Renoir and Marc Chagall), a first-edition copy of Cervantes's Don Quixote, letters written by Christopher Columbus, and substantial land; her wealth was estimated at between €600 million and €3.5 billion.[1] Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth.[14] They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville.[17] The Duchess, whose passions included flamenco, performed a quick few steps of the dance in front of the crowds that had gathered outside the palace on the day of the wedding.[18]

As a socialite, the duchess met famous VIPs from Spain and abroad. Jackie Kennedy visited her Seville palace, as did Wallis Simpson, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco. In 1959 the duchess, together with designer Yves Saint Laurent, hosted a Dior show for charitable purposes in her Liria Palace, Madrid, a palace which movie stars Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Raf Vallone visited. In her youth the duchess posed for Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton and she appeared on the cover of Time and Harper's Bazaar.

Her ancestor, paternal with one exception being maternal, was King James II who had her closer ancestor and three other children with Arabella Churchill, sister of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, making her a distant cousin of the Spencer-Churchill, Churchill and Spencer prominent British contemporaries. The Spencers will have multiplied the Alba cousinage with the monarchy on the ascension to the throne of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. Her titles included that of Duchess of Berwick in the Jacobite Peerage. The Jacobean Peerage has no rank in Britain; its senior holders often have inheritance and status in Catholic remnant aristocracies. In 1802 the dukedom passed to her Spanish noble male-line ancestor from his mother who took the surname accordingly.

Death

The Duchess died in the Palacio de las Dueñas on November 20, 2014, at the age of 88. She was survived by her last husband, her six children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.[19] She was succeeded by her son Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, who thus became the 19th Duke of Alba.

Funeral

After her death the Duchess' body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of Sevillans paid their last respects. Pictures of the Duchess with her family were placed at her coffin. The King of Spain telephoned her son to pay his respects and sent two flower crowns to Seville. The Lord Mayor said that the flags of the city would be lowered in mourning. Msgrs. Juan José Asenjo and Curro Romero, and Mr. Rajoy, Spain's prime minister, also formally paid their respects.[20] Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Msgr. Carlos Amigo Vallejo where the Royal Family were represented by the Infanta Elena.[21]

Titles, styles and honours

Palacio de Liria, birthplace of the Duchess as well as her main residence

Titles

Dukedoms
Count-Dukedoms
Coat of arms of Cayetana, 18th Duchess of Alba
Marquessates
  • 17th Marchioness of the Carpio, Grandee of Spain
  • 10th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Fernando
  • 16th Marchioness of La Algaba
  • 16th Marchioness of Almenara -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[24]
  • 18th Marchioness of Barcarrota
  • 10th Marchioness of Castañeda
  • 23rd Marchioness of Coria
  • 14th Marchioness of Eliche
  • 16th Marchioness of Mirallo
  • 20th Marchioness of la Mota
  • 20th Marchioness of Moya
  • 17th Marchioness of Orani -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[25]
  • 12th Marchioness of Osera
  • 14th Marchioness of San Leonardo
  • 19th Marchioness of Sarria
  • 12th Marchioness of Tarazona
  • 15th Marchioness of Valdunquillo
  • 18th Marchioness of Villanueva del Fresno
  • 17th Marchioness of Villanueva del Río
Countships
  • 27th Countess of Aranda, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[26]
  • 22nd Countess of Lemos, Grandee of Spain
  • 20th Countess of Lerín, Grandee of Spain, Constabless of Navarre
  • 20th Countess of Miranda del Castañar, Grandee of Spain
  • 16th Countess of Monterrey, Grandee of Spain
  • 20th Countess of Osorno, Grandee of Spain
  • 18th Countess of Palma del Río, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[27]
  • 12th Countess of Salvatierra, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Cayetano
  • 22nd Countess of Siruela, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Jacobo
  • 19th Countess of Andrade
  • 14th Countess of Ayala
  • 16th Countess of Casarrubios del Monte
  • 16th Countess of Fuentes de Valdepero
  • 11th Countess of Fuentidueña
  • 17th Countess of Galve
  • 18th Countess of Gelves
  • 16th Countess of Guimerá -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[28]
  • 21st Countess of Modica (Kingdom of Sicily)
  • 24th Countess of Ribadeo -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso[29]
  • 25th Countess of San Esteban de Gormaz
  • 12th Countess of Santa Cruz de la Sierra
  • 20th Countess of Villalba
Viscountcies
  • 12th Viscountess of la Calzada
Lordships
  • 29th Lady of Moguer

Styles

  • 28 March 1926  11 January 1935: The Most Excellent Doña Mª del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva
  • 11 January 1935  28 January 1947: The Most Excellent The Duchess of Aliaga
  • 28 January 1947  18 February 1955: The Most Excellent The Duchess of Montoro
  • 18 February 1955  20 November 2014: The Most Excellent The Duchess of Alba de Tormes

Honours

National honours
Foreign honours

Honorary appointments

National honorary appointments
Foreign honorary appointments

Ancestry

References

  1. 1 2 Daniel Woolls; Miguel Angel Morenatti (5 October 2011). "Rich Spanish duchess weds for third time at age 85". The Boston Globe. ISSN 0743-1791. Retrieved 9 October 2011.
  2. Burgen, Stephen (7 August 2011). "Spanish duchess gives away fortune in order to marry civil servant". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  3. Edwards, Arthur. "The International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame Inductees, 2004-2014". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
  4. "Death Duke of Sotomayor". Hemeroteca.abc.es. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  5. Constenla, Tereixa (14 August 2011). "The duchess marries for love". El País. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  6. Vanity Fair
  7. Los Duques de Aliaga, padres de una hija
  8. "Multimedia". Lavozdigital.es. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  9. "First great-granddaughter". Eleconomista.es. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  10. "Nace el tercer bisnieto de la Duquesa de Alba". Vanitatis.com. 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  11. "Más detalles de la boda de Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Asela Pérez Becerril en el palacio de Liria". Hola.com. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  12. M. Bolonio (25 February 2015). "Nace el que sería el cuarto bisnieto de la duquesa de Alba". El Confidencial.
  13. "Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Asela Pérez Becerril, padres de nuevo". Mujerhoy.
  14. 1 2 3 Stephen Burgen in Barcelona. "newspaper: Spanish duchess gives away fortune in order to marry civil servant, 8 August 2011". Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  15. Algorri, Luis (21 May 2001). "Jesús Aguirre Ortiz de Zárate, Duque de Alba". Personajes Cántabros (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007. (in Spanish)
  16. "The duchess with everything (except the right to marry)". The Independent. London. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  17. Galaz, Mábel (5 October 2011). "Cayetana ya es señora de Díez". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-10-05. (in Spanish)
  18. Ashifa Kassam. "Spain's eccentric Duchess of Alba dies aged 88". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  19. "Duchess of Alba dies". Mail Online. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  20. EL PERIÓDICO / BARCELONA. "El Rey y Rajoy dan el pésame por la muerte de la duquesa de Alba". El Periódico.
  21. "DUQUESA ALBA. LA INFANTA ELENA REPRESENTARÁ AL REY EN EL FUNERAL DE LA DUQUESA DE ALBA". teinteresa.es. 20 November 2014.
  22. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  23. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  24. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  25. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  26. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  27. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  28. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  29. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  30. Decree 1079 of 1 April 1964 – website BOE.es
  31. http://cdn.revistavanityfair.es/uploads/images/thumbs/201139/cayetana_alba__el_cambiante___lbum_de_la_duquesa_864641999_530x398.jpg
  32. Royal Decree 1432 of 14 December 2001 – website BOE.es
  33. EFE/Rafa Alcalde. "Despedida a la duquesa de Alba en el Ayuntamiento de Sevilla". rtve.es.
  34. http://www.larepublica.ec/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Duquesa-de-Alba.jpg
  35. Ana Verónica Garcia (20 November 2014). "La duquesa de Alba, una ferviente católica movida por su fe". ABC.es.
  36. Donovan Longo. "Spain's Duchess Of Alba Funeral Photos: 88-Year-Old Eccentric Aristocrat Remembered By Family And Dignitaries". Latin Times.
  37. Decree 753 of 5 April 1962 – website BOE.es
  38. Decree 889 of 29 March 1974– website BOE.es
  39. "Unos 200 jornaleros protestan por el título de Hija Predilecta de Andalucía para la duquesa de Alba". elmundo.es.
  40. "El Sindicato de Obreros del Campo reclama a la duquesa de Alba que "pida disculpas"". 20minutos.es.
  41. "El equipo de Gobierno recuerda en este día a la Duquesa de Alba, medalla de oro de la ciudad - Radio Bahia Gibraltar". radiobahiagibraltar.es.
  42. "Grupo Diario Area » Último adiós a la Duquesa de Alba, Medalla de Oro de La Línea". grupodiarioarea.es.
  43. Nacho Fresno. "Los hijos de la duquesa de Alba, unidos en la Medalla de Oro de Madrid". Revista Semana.
  44. El Imparcial. "La intensa vida de la duquesa de Alba con el mundo por montera". El Imparcial.
  45. 1 2 "Ortiz de Pinedo". Ortiz de Pinedo. Archived from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  46. "DINASTÍAS - Los Foros de la Realeza • Ver Tema - ESCALERA DE ATENAS. Gala Juan Carlos y Sofia". forogratis.es.
  47. http://img.rtve.es/imagenes/abren-capilla-ardiente-restos-mortales-duquesa-alba/1416493399576.jpg
  48. "20/11/2014". constantinianorder.org. Archived from the original on 6 February 2015.
  49. ""La Duquesa de Alba no tiene que hacerle la reverencia al Rey" ForoCoches". forocoches.com.
  50. Cawley, Charles, CASTILE LEON NOBILITY (2), Medieval Lands database, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy ,
  51. "Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18va duquesa de Alba". knowledger.de.
  52. Europa Press (20 November 2014). "Llíria (Valencia) muestra sus condolencias por la muerte de la Duquesa de Alba, alcaldesa honorífica de la ciudad". europapress.es.
  53. Elisa Murillo. "Muere la duquesa de Alba". Revista Semana.
  54. ABC. "La duquesa de Alba no acude a la boda del marqués de Valencina". ABC de Sevilla.
  55. http://www.rtve.es/rtve/20141120/duquesa-alba-vida-veinticinco-fotogramas-segundo/1050640.shtml
  56. "La duquesa de Alba: su vida y obra de la A a la Z". 20minutos.es.
  57. El Imparcial. "La intensa vida de la duquesa de Alba con el mundo por montera". El Imparcial.
  58. "Sociedad Hispana de América". Turismo Nueva York.
Spanish nobility
Preceded by
María del Rosario de Silva
Duchess of Aliaga
11 January 1935  23 April 1954
Succeeded by
Alfonso Martínez de Irujo
Marquise of San Vicente del Barco
11 January 1935  26 January 1994
Succeeded by
Fernando Martínez de Irujo
Preceded by
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart
Duchess of Montoro
28 January 1947  24 November 1994
Succeeded by
Eugenia Martínez de Irujo
Duke of Alba, et cetera
18 February 1955  20 November 2014
Succeeded by
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart
Countess of Siruela
18 February 1955  9 June 1982
Succeeded by
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart
Preceded by
Alfonso de Silva
Duchess of Híjar
31 December 1957  2 April 2013
Succeeded by
Alfonso Martínez de Irujo
Countess of Salvatierra
31 December 1957  26 January 1994
Succeeded by
Cayetano Martínez de Irujo
Italian nobility
Preceded by
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart
Count of Modica
18 February 1955  20 November 2014
Succeeded by
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart
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