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 y Silva
She was baptized on 17 April 1926 in the Royal Chapel, her godparents being King Alfonso XIII and his wife, Queen Victoria Eugenia.[3] For her baptism, the baptismal font of Santo Domingo de Guzmán was brought, which is only used to baptize monarchs or their descendants.[4]
Almost everyone knew her as Cayetana, the name she preferred. Her father called her "Tanuca" and Queen Sofia and other close associates called her "Tana".[5]
A few months after Cayetana was born, her mother, María del Rosario, fell ill with tuberculosis. To prevent infection, part of the Liria Palace was reserved for María del Rosario. The domestic staff tried to keep Cayetana away from her mother, and if the girl ever tried to avoid them, her mother would try to stop her by throwing something to make her run away. These traumatic situations remained forever in Cayetana's memory.[6]
On 12 October 1947, the Duchess married Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz (1919–1972), younger son of the Duke of Sotomayor and his wife Ana María de Artázcoz y Labayen (1892–1930), court lady of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.[8] The wedding in Spain, two years after the end of 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."[9] It was reported that 20million pesetas (equivalent to $10,000,000 rounded in 2015) was spent.
Widowed in 1972, the Duchess remarried first on 16 March 1978 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.[10] 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.[11] Aguirre died in 2001.
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".[10][12] 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 €600million and €3.5billion.[13] Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth.[10] They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville,[14] where the Duchess, whose passions included flamenco, performed a short dance for the spectators.[15]
The Duchess died in the Palacio de las Dueñas on 20 November 2014, at the age of 88. She was succeeded by her son Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, who thus became the 19th Duke of Alba. At the time of her death, her net worth was estimated to be $5 billion.[16]
The Duchess' body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of people 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. Juan José Asenjo and Curro Romero, and Mariano Rajoy, Spain's prime minister, also formally paid their respects.[17] Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Carlos Amigo Vallejo, where the Royal Family was represented by the Infanta Elena.[18]
Titles, honours and arms
Titles
As head of the dynasty, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was styled by her most senior title of "Duchess of Alba", while having held over 50 other hereditary titles during her lifetime.[13] She was 14 times a Grandee of Spain. According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.[19]
↑ Yagüe, María Eugenia (2009). La duquesa de Alba: la última diva de la nobleza[The Duchess of Alba: the last diva of the nobility] (in Spanish). Madrid: La esfera de los libros. p.46. ISBN9788497348058.
↑ Calleja, Concepción (2001). Cayetana de Alba: pasión andaluza[Cayetana de Alba: Andalusian passion.] (in Spanish). Barcelona: Plaza & Janes. ISBN84-01-37760-9.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
