Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart | |
|---|---|
 Cayetana Duchess of Alba in 2005 | |
| Born | 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 28 March 1926 Liria Palace, Madrid, Spain |
| Died | 20 November 2014 (aged 88) Palace of the Dukes of Alba, Seville, Spain |
| Spouses | Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz
(m. 1947; died 1972)Alfonso Díez Carabantes
(m. 2011) |
| Children | Five sons, one daughter |
| Parents | |
| Family | House of Alba branch of Fitz-James Stuart |
| Signature | |
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María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba GE (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014) was one of the most senior aristocrats in Spain, as well as the most titled aristocrat in the world, a record now held by Princess Victoria of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 20th Duchess of Medinaceli.
Born in Liria Palace in Madrid on 28 March 1926, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was the only child of the 17th Duke of Alba (a prominent Spanish politician and diplomat during the 1930s and 1940s) and his wife, María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco. She was the eighth great-granddaughter of James II and VII. Her godparents were Queen Victoria Eugenie and King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
As a socialite, the Duchess met famous VIPs from Spain and abroad. Jackie Kennedy visited her Seville palace, as did Wallis Simpson, Princess Grace and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and King Constantine II of Greece. 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.
She was inducted into Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame[1] in 2011.
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.[2] 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."[3] It was reported that 20 million pesetas (equivalent to $10,000,000 rounded in 2015) was spent.
Six children were born of this marriage:
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.[4] 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.[5] 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".[4][6] 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.[7] Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth.[4] They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville,[8] where the Duchess, whose passions included flamenco, performed a short dance for the spectators.[9]
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.[10]
The Duchess' body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of civilians 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.[11] Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Carlos Amigo Vallejo, where the Royal Family was represented by the Infanta Elena.[12]
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.[7] She was 14 times a Grandee of Spain. According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.[13]
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Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic[22] Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise[23][24] Spain: Knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild[25] Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Alcántara[26] Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Charity[27] Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Agricultural Merit[28] Spain Recipient of the Medal of Andalusia[29][30] Spain: Recipient of the Medal of Concepción[31] Spain: Recipient of the Medal of Línea[32] Spain: Recipient of the Medal of The Community of Madrid[33] Spain: Former Grand Master Recipient of the Medal of The Spanish Red Cross[34] Spain: Recipient of the Medal of Suffering for the Motherland
Greek royal family: Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Beneficence
House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Calabrian Two Sicilian Order of Saint George[35]
Japan: Wisteria Dame of the Order of the Precious Crown, 4th Class
Castilla-La Mancha: Marshal of Castilla-La Mancha[citation needed]
Aragon: Constable of Aragon[36]
Llíria: Honorary Mayor of Llíria[37]
Seville: Knight of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville[38][39] Spain: Honorary President of the Spanish Red Cross[40] Spain: Honorary President of the Spanish National Orchestra[41] Spain: Honorary President of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando[42]
United States: Member of the Hispanic Society of America[43] United States: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
