Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

'' Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Ortega, 10th Marquess of Villaverde (1 August 1922 in Jaén, Mancha Real,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

– 4 February 1998 in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

), was a Spanish aristocrat, the son-in-law of dictator Francisco Franco, and a

heart surgeon Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs (lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal struc ...

. In

Spanish 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, Can ...

, his peerage is written ''El X Marqués de Villaverde'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: The 10th Marquess of Villaverde).

Family

He was born Cristóbal Martínez y Bordiú, one of four children of José María Martínez y Ortega ( Jaén, Mancha Real, 24 October 1890 – Mancha Real, 10 November 1970) and wife (m. Sabiñán, 2 February 1918) María de la O Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán (

, 19 December 1896 – Mancha Real, 12 December 1980), 7th Countess of Argillo. Cristóbal was given the title of 10th Marquess of Villaverde by his mother. When he was 23, he graduated from medical school.

Marriage and children

He was married on 10 April 1950 in the Palacio Real de El Pardo with María del Carmen Franco y Polo, the future

Duchess of Franco Duke of Franco ( es, Duque de Franco) was a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility. The title was created in 1975 by Juan Carlos I of Spain, King Juan Carlos and bestowed upon Carmen Franco, the daughter and only child of Spain's ''Caudillo'', ...

, the only daughter of '' Generalísimo'' Francisco Franco (1939–1975), the Spanish ''

Caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

''. There were more than 800 attending the wedding. It was performed by the Bishop Leopoldo Eijo y Garay of the Diocese of Madrid (now Archdiocese of Madrid). This wedding brought him high social status in the Spain of General Franco. He was jokingly nicknamed the ''Yernísimo'', in a clear reference to the title of '' Generalísimo'' of his father-in-law (''yerno'' in Spanish means son-in-law, although in proper Spanish grammar the suffix ''-ísimo'' can only be added to certain adjectives to indicate "more than", but it can never be used with nouns). In 13 years, he and his wife had seven children: * María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b.

El Pardo El Pardo is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656. History The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madri ...

, 26 February 1951), who married firstly to

Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz Alfonso, Duke of Anjou, Duke of Cádiz, Grandee of Spain (''Alfonso Jaime Marcelino Manuel Víctor María de Borbón y Dampierre'', French citizen as ''Alphonse de Bourbon''; 20 April 1936 – 30 January 1989) was a grandson of King Alfonso XIII ...

, son of the

Infante Jaime, Duke of Segovia Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia, Duke of Anjou (''Jaime Leopoldo Isabelino Enrique Alejandro Alberto Alfonso Víctor Acacio Pedro Pablo María de Borbón y Battenberg'') (23 June 1908 – 20 March 1975), was the second son of King Alfon ...

and grandson of King Alfonso XIII; divorced in 1982 and had issue; married secondly in 1984 to Jean-Marie Rossi; divorced in 1995 and had issue; married thirdly in 2006 to José Campos García, without issue. **Prince Francisco de Asís, Duke of Bourbon (1972-1984) **Prince Luis Alfonso, Duke of Anjou (1974-), married in 2004 to María Margarita Vargas Santaella and has issue: ***Princess Eugenia of Bourbon (2007-) ***Prince Luis, Duke of Burgundy (2010-) ***Prince Alfonso, Duke of Berry (2010-) ***Prince Henri, Duke of Touraine (2019-) **María Cynthia Rossi (1985-) * María la O (Mariola) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b.

, 19 November 1952), married in

on 14 March 1974 Rafael Ardid y Villoslada (b. 1 February 1947), and had issue: ** Francisco de Borja Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b.

, 20 December 1975), married in Ciudad Real on 23 July 2005 María Ruiz y Vega ** Jaime Rafael Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b.

, 28 September 1976) ** Francisco Javier Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b.

, 7 April 1987) * Francisco Franco y Martínez-Bordiú, 11th Marquess of Villaverde, 2nd Lord of Meriás (b. 9 December 1954) * María del Mar (Merry) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. 6 July 1956), married firstly at the Pazo de Meirás on 3 August 1977 and divorced in 1982 Joaquín José Giménez-Arnau y Puente (b. 14 September 1943), and had issue, and married secondly in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York, on 4 August 1986 and divorced in 1991 Gregor Tamler, without issue: ** Leticia Giménez-Arnau y Martínez-Bordiú (b. 25 January 1979), married on 8 August 2008 Marcos Sagrera y Palomo * José Cristóbal (Cristóbal) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b.

, 10 February 1958), married civilly in

, New York, on 23 November 1984 and religiously in

on 27 October 1990

Model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

Josefina Victoria Toledo y López (b. San José de Tirajana, Canary Islands, 1963), and had issue: ** Daniel Martínez-Bordiú y Toledo (b.

, 11 June 1990) ** Diego Martínez-Bordiú y Toledo (b.

, 4 May 1998) * María de Aránzazu (Arantxa) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. 16 September 1962), married at the Pazo de Meirás on 27 July 1996 Claudio Quiroga y Ferro, without issue. * Jaime Felipe (Jaime) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. 8 July 1964), married in

on 24 November 1995 Nuria March y Almela (b. July 1966), later divorced and had issue. Married secondly on 7 April 2021 in a civil ceremony in Madrid to Marta Fernández, without issue: ** Jaime Martínez-Bordiú y March (b.

, 13 November 1999)

First Spanish heart transplant

Since he was a

and great friend and admirer of Dr.

Christiaan Barnard Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...

, he became the first Spaniard to perform a heart transplant in September 1968. The patient only survived 24 hours. A popular joke was that Villaverde killed more in ''La Paz'' (the hospital where he worked, and translating to ''The Peace'') than his father-in-law in the war. On a visit to Spain Dr. Barnard joked, "I am a surgeon who wants to be a playboy and he is a playboy that wishes to be a surgeon."

Death

The ''Marqués'' died in Madrid on 4 February 1998 and was succeeded as marquess by his eldest son, Francisco, 11th Marqués de Villaverde. The 10th Marquess of Villaverde is buried in the crypt of Almudena Cathedral.

Orders and decorations

* Knight of the Spanish Order of the Golden Fleece * Knight Collar of the

Order of Charles III The Royal and Distinguished Spanish Order of Charles III, originally Royal and Much Distinguished Order of Charles III ( es, Real y Distinguida Orden Española de Carlos III, originally es, Real y Muy Distinguida Orden de Carlos III) was establ ...

* Knight of the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

* Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

* Knight of the

Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under ...

References

El Mundo obituary

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez-Bordiu, Cristobal 1922 births 1998 deaths People from the Province of Jaén (Spain) Francoist Spain Marquesses of Spain Spanish military personnel Spanish surgeons 20th-century Spanish physicians Knights of the Holy Sepulchre