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 distinction now held by the

Princess Victoria of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 20th Duchess of Medinaceli Princess Victoria Elisabeth of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 20th Duchess of Medinaceli, GE (born 17 March 1997) is a Spanish-German noblewoman. Holding 43 officially recognised titles in the Spanish nobility, she is the most titled aristocrat in the w ...

Family

Born in

Liria Palace The Liria Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio de Liria'') is a neoclassical palace in Madrid, Spain. It is the Madrid residence of the Dukes of Alba. History Built around 1770 to a design by the architect Ventura Rodríguez, it was commissioned by Jam ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

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 eight-greats granddaughter of James II. Her godmother was

Queen Victoria Eugenie Victoria Eugenie Julia Ena of Battenberg (24 October 1887 – 15 April 1969) was Queen consort of Spain, Queen of Spain as the wife of King Alfonso XIII from their marriage on 31 May 1906 until 14 April 1931, when the Spanish Second Republic wa ...

, the wife of King Alfonso XIII of Spain.

Socialite

As a socialite, the Duchess met famous

VIP A very important person or personage (VIP or V.I.P.) is a person who is accorded special privileges due to their high social status, influence or importance. The term was not common until sometime after World War 2 by RAF pilots. Examples inc ...

s from Spain and abroad.

Jackie Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

visited her

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

palace, as did

Wallis Simpson Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

Grace Kelly Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956. Kelly ...

and

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 years, making him one of the longest-ruling m ...

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. In 1959, the Duchess, together with designer Yves Saint Laurent, hosted a Dior show for charitable purposes in her

, Madrid, a palace which movie stars Charlton Heston,

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...

, Audrey Hepburn and

Raf Vallone The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's Air force, air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal ...

visited. In her youth the Duchess posed for

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

and

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...

and she appeared on the cover of ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...

'' and ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

''. She was inducted into '' Vanity Fairs

International Best Dressed List The International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame List was founded by fashionista Eleanor Lambert in 1940 as an attempt to boost the reputation of American fashion at the time. The American magazine ''Vanity Fair'' is currently in charge of the List a ...

Hall of Fame in 2011.

Marriages

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 ''Court Lady'' () is a 2021 Chinese television series produced by Yu Zheng, starring Xu Kai and Li Yitong. Once renowned as Chang’an’s number one hedonist, Sheng Chumu could barely ride on a horse without falling off. Now, he has fallen head ...

of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. The wedding in Spain, two years after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' called it "the most expensive wedding of the world." It was reported that 20 million pesetas (equivalent to $10,000,000 rounded in 2015) was spent. Six children were born of this marriage: *

Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 19th Duke of Alba, GE (''né'' Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart; born 2 October 1948), is a Spanish aristocrat. He is the head of the House of Alba, one of the most prominent families of the ...

(born 2 October 1948,

) * Alfonso Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duke of Híjar (born 22 October 1950, Madrid) * Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 23rd Count of Siruela (born 15 July 1954, Madrid) * 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) * Eugenia Martínez de Irujo, 12th Duchess of Montoro (born 26 November 1968) Dona-Maria-del-Rosario-Cayetana-Fitz-James-Stuart-y-de-Silva-352039306840

Dona-Maria-del-Rosario-Cayetana-Fitz-James-Stuart-y-de-Silva-352039306840

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 , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest. The wedding caused shock; Aguirre was

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

, which carried a stigma among the wealthy and devout in 1970s Spain. 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. 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 Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

business, 24 years her junior. It was reported objections came from her children and from

King Juan Carlos King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ti ...

. 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". 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 Fra Angelico (born Guido di Pietro; February 18, 1455) was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Vasari in his '' Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent".Giorgio Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists''. Pengu ...

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...

and

Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

and Marc Chagall), a first-edition copy of

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

's ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', letters written by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, and substantial land; her wealth was estimated at between €600 million and €3.5 billion. Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth. They married on 5 October 2011 at the

Palacio de las Dueñas Palacio de las Dueñas (occasionally, Casa Palacio de las Dueñas) is a palace in Seville, Spain, currently belonging to the House of Alba. It was built in the late 15th century in the Renaissance style with Gothic and Moorish influences. The pal ...

. The Duchess, whose passions included

flamenco Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...

, 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.

Death

Monumento a la Duquesa de Alba, Sevilla 2

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 Carlos Fitz-James Stuart y Martínez de Irujo, 19th Duke of Alba, GE (''né'' Martínez de Irujo y Fitz-James Stuart; born 2 October 1948), is a Spanish aristocrat. He is the head of the House of Alba, one of the most prominent families of the ...

, who thus became the 19th Duke of Alba. At the time of her death, her net worth was estimated to be $5 billion. 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 , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

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. Her funeral was held at

Seville Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See ( es, Catedral de Santa María de la Sede), better known as Seville Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It was registered in 1987 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, along ...

by Msgr.

Carlos Amigo Vallejo Carlos Amigo Vallejo, O.F.M. (23 August 1934 – 27 April 2022) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Seville from 1982 to 2009. He was made a cardinal in 2003. He was archbishop of Tangier in Morocco from 19 ...

, where the Royal Family was represented by the Infanta Elena.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

As head of the dynasty, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was styled by her most senior title of "Duchess of Alba", whilst holding over 40 other hereditary titles. According to ''

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'', she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.

Titles

;Dukedoms * 18th Duchess of Alba,

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

* 15th Duchess of Aliaga, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso *4th Duchess of Arjona, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Cayetano * 11th Duchess of Berwick, Grandee of Spain *17th Duchess of Híjar, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso * 11th Duchess of Liria and Jérica, Grandee of Spain *11th Duchess of Montoro, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to her daughter Doña Eugenia ;Count-dukedoms * 12th Countess-Duchess of Olivares, Grandee of Spain ;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 *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 *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 *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 *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 * 21st Countess of Modica (

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

) *24th Countess of Ribadeo -Ceded to her son Don Alfonso *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

Honours

;National honours * : Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic * : Knight Grand Cross of the

Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise ( es, Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was create ...

* : Knight of the

Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild ( es, Real y Militar Orden de San Hermenegildo) is both a general military honor and a legion created by Ferdinand VII of Spain on 28 November 1814. The Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermene ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Alcántara The Order of Alcántara ( Leonese: ''Orde de Alcántara'', es, Orden de Alcántara), also called the Knights of St. Julian, was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166 and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177. Alcántara Alc ...

* : Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Charity * : Knight Grand Cross of the Civil Order of Agricultural Merit * Recipient of the Medal of Andalusia * : Recipient of the Medal of Concepción * : Recipient of the Medal of Línea * : Recipient of the Medal of The Community of Madrid * : Former Grand Master Recipient of the Medal of The Spanish Red Cross * : Recipient of the

Medal of Suffering for the Motherland A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

;Foreign honours *

Greek royal family The Greek royal family (Greek: Ελληνική Βασιλική Οικογένεια) is a branch of the Danish royal family, itself a branch of the House of Glücksburg, that reigned in Greece from 1863 to 1924 and again from 1935 to 1973. It ...

: Dame Grand Cross of the

Order of Beneficence The Order of Beneficence ( el, Τάγμα της Ευποιΐας) is an order of Greece that was established in 1948. It is conferred by the Greek government as a moral reward for women especially, Greek and foreign, for the good services they h ...

House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies The House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, Spanish Bourbons that ruled Southern Italy and Sicily for more than a century in the 18th and 19th centuries. It descends from the Capetian dynasty in legitimate ma ...

Dame Grand Cross of Justice of the Calabrian Two Sicilian Order of Saint George * : Wisteria Dame of the Order of the Precious Crown, 4th Class

Honorary appointments

;National honorary appointments * :

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of Castilla-La Mancha * :

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of Aragon *

Llíria Llíria (; es, Liria) is a medium-sized town off the CV35 motorway to the north of Valencia, Spain. Known as ''Edeta'' in ancient Iberian times, it is the musical capital of the region. On October 30, 2019, Llíria was declared a Creative City ...

: Honorary Mayor of Llíria * : Knight of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville * : Honorary President of the

Spanish Red Cross Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

* : Honorary President of the

Spanish National Orchestra The Orquesta Nacional de España (Spanish National Orchestra) is a symphonic orchestra that is based in Madrid, Spain. History Although the orchestra originated as of 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, it was legally founded in 1940, by the mergin ...

* : Honorary President of the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

;Foreign honorary appointments * : Member of the

Hispanic Society of America The Hispanic Society of America operates a museum and reference library for the study of the arts and cultures of Spain and Portugal and their former colonies in Latin America, the Spanish East Indies, and Portuguese India. Despite the name, i ...

* : Member of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

References

External links

House of Híjar

Euskomedia

The Late Duchess of Alba
audio clip of name.

in

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

Marcus Williamson Marcus Williamson is a British writer, journalist and campaigner. As an obituarist for ''The Independent'' he has written obituaries of more than 300 subjects, including artists, poets, actors and inventors. Campaigns Phorm In 2009 the AIM-l ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitz-James Stuart, Cayetana 1926 births 2014 deaths Grandees of Spain Spanish duchesses Marquesses of Spain Spanish countesses Italian countesses Viscounts of Spain Lords of Spain Spanish nobility Nobility from Madrid

Cayetana Cayetana is a Spanish feminine given name. It may refer to: * Cayetana (band) *Cayetana blanca, Spanish grape variety People * Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo (b. 1974), Spanish journalist and politician * Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of ...

Dukes of Almazan Berwick, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, Duchess of Dukes of Montoro Dukes of Olivares

Marquesses of Carpio Counts of Fuentes Counts of Galve Counts of Lemos Counts of Monterrey Counts of Osorno Counts of San Esteban de Gormaz Recipients of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Recipients of the Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise Recipients of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild Knights of the Order of Alcántara Grand Crosses of the Order of Beneficence (Greece) Order of the Precious Crown members Female billionaires Spanish billionaires Spanish socialites