Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Fitz-James Stuart and the second or maternal family name is de Silva.
Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart
18th Duchess of Alba (more...)
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
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, 15th Duke of Aliaga
Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 23rd Count of Siruela
Fernando Martínez de Irujo, 11th Marquis of San Vicente del Barco
Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, 13th Count of Salvatierra
Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, 12th Duchess of Montoro

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
Family House of Alba
First House of FitzJames
Father Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of Alba
Mother María del Rosario de Silva, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco
Born 28 March 1926
Liria Palace, Madrid, Spain
Baptised 18 April 1926
Royal Chapel, Royal Palace of Madrid
Died 20 November 2014 (aged 88)
Palace of the Dukes of Alba, Seville, Spain
Religion Roman Catholicism

María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba de Tormes and a Grandee of Spain (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014), was head of the House of Alba and the third lady to hold the title 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 the Queen Consort of Spain, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, wife of Alfonso XIII de Borbón, King 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 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, just after the Second World War, is considered to be one of the last great weddings of European 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 were spent at that time. Six children were born of this marriage, who were all conferred noble titles by their mother, in accordance with Spanish Royal protocol, including the rank of Grandee of Spain.

After becoming a widow, the Duchess remarried 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 was scandalous in 1970s Spain.[12] 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.[13] Aguirre died in 2001.

Details emerged in 2008 regarding the Duchess’s intention to marry Alfonso Díez Carabantes, a civil servant who also runs a public relations business, 24 years her junior. It was reported that there were objections from her children and from King Juan Carlos, and the House of Alba that year issued a statement saying that the relationship "was based on a long friendship and there are no plans to marry".[12][14] The duchess decided to proceed with the marriage, overcoming her children’s opposition by giving them their inheritance in advance. The duchess’s fortune included ancient palaces throughout 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 huge tracts of land; her wealth was estimated at between €600 million and €3.5 billion.[1] Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth.[12] They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville.[15] 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.[16]

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 hosted one Dior show for charitable purposes in her Liria Palace in Madrid, together with designer Yves Saint Laurent. Movie stars such as Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Raf Vallone visited Liria Palace. In her youth the duchess posed for Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton and she appeared on the cover of Time and Harper's Bazaar.

The Duchess’s titles included that of Duchess of Berwick and she was a direct descendant of King James II and a distant relative of Winston Churchill and Diana, Princess of Wales.[16] The mother of the first duke of Berwick was Arabella Churchill, sister of the first duke of Marlborough, John Churchill. In 1802 after the death of the 13th duchess, who was childless, the dukedom passed to her relative, the duke of Berwick, a Spanish nobleman.

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.[17] 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 also formally paid their respects.[18] Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Msgr. Carlos Amigo Vallejo where the Royal Family were represented by the Infanta Elena.[19]

Titles, styles and honours

Titles

Coat of arms of Cayetana, 18th Duchess of Alba.
Dukedoms
Count-Dukedoms
Marquessates
Countships
Viscountcies
Manorial lordships

Styles

Honours

National honours
Foreign honours

Honorary appointments

National honorary appointments
Foreign honorary appointments

Ancestry

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 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. 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. "Multimedia". Lavozdigital.es. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  7. "First great-granddaughter". Eleconomista.es. 2011-12-14. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  8. "Nace el tercer bisnieto de la Duquesa de Alba". Vanitatis.com. 2013-11-26. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  9. "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.
  10. Vanitatis
  11. Mujer Hoy
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Stephen Burgen in Barcelona. "newspaper: Spanish duchess gives away fortune in order to marry civil servant, 8 August 2011". Guardian. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  13. Algorri, Luis (21 May 2001). "Jesús Aguirre Ortiz de Zárate, Duque de Alba". Personajes Cántabros (in Spanish). Retrieved 2007-04-29. (Spanish)
  14. "The duchess with everything (except the right to marry)". The Independent (London). 29 September 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  15. Galaz, Mábel (5 October 2011). "Cayetana ya es señora de Díez". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2011-10-05. (Spanish)
  16. 16.0 16.1 Ashifa Kassam. "Spain’s eccentric Duchess of Alba dies aged 88". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  17. "Duchess of Alba dies". Mail Online. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  18. http://www.teinteresa.es/espana/DUQUESA-ALBA-INFANTA-REPRESENTARA-FUNERAL_0_1252076336.html
  19. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  20. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  21. Boletín Oficial del Estado– website BOE.es
  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. Decree 1079 of 1 April 1964 – website BOE.es
  28. http://cdn.revistavanityfair.es/uploads/images/thumbs/201139/cayetana_alba__el_cambiante___lbum_de_la_duquesa_864641999_530x398.jpg
  29. Royal Decree 1432 of 14 December 2001 – website BOE.es
  30. http://www.rtve.es/mediateca/fotos/20141120/despedida-duquesa-alba-ayuntamiento-sevilla/146755.shtml
  31. Decree 753 of 5 April 1962 – website BOE.es
  32. Decree 889 of 29 March 1974– website BOE.es
  33. 34.0 34.1 "Ortiz de Pinedo". Ortiz de Pinedo. Retrieved 2014-06-30.
  34. http://dinastias.forogratis.es/escalera-de-atenas-gala-juan-carlos-y-sofia-t723-780.html
  35. http://img.rtve.es/imagenes/abren-capilla-ardiente-restos-mortales-duquesa-alba/1416493399576.jpg
  36. http://www.constantinianorder.org/news/20-11-2015.html
  37. http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SPANISH%20NOBILITY%20LATER%20MEDIEVAL%202.htm
  38. http://es.knowledger.de/0459810/CayetanaFitzJamesStuart18vaDuquesaDeAlba
  39. http://m.europapress.es/comunitat-valenciana/noticia-lliria-valencia-muestra-condolencias-muerte-duquesa-alba-alcaldesa-honorifica-ciudad-20141120163753.html
  40. http://www.semana.es/muere-la-duquesa-de-alba-20141120-00213156/
  41. http://sevilla.abc.es/estilo/gente/20140607/sevi-boda-miguel-solis-201406072132.html
  42. http://www.rtve.es/rtve/20141120/duquesa-alba-vida-veinticinco-fotogramas-segundo/1050640.shtml
  43. http://m.20minutos.es/noticia/428893/0/duquesa/alba/abecedario/
  44. http://www.turismonuevayork.com/sociedad-hispana-de-america/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba.
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
Duchess of Alba de Tormes
Duchess of Berwick

18 February 1955  20 November 2014
Succeeded by
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart
The Duke of Huéscar
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