Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz and Viscountess of La Torre (
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 ...
: ''María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón''; 30 July 1936 – 8 January 2020), sometimes known more simply as Pilar de Borbón, was the elder daughter of
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona (Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg; 20 June 1913 – 1 April 1993), also known as Don Juan, was a claimant to the Spanish throne as Juan III. He was the third son and designated heir o ...
Counts of Barcelona
The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality ...
, she was born in Ville Saint Blaise, home of the counts of Barcelona in
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...
(Alpes-Maritimes, France), on 30 July 1936. She was baptized in Cannes, in the church of Rins, with the name of ''María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón''. Her godparents were her paternal grandfather, King Alfonso XIII and her maternal grandmother the Princess Louise of Orléans, although Alfonso XIII acted by delegation as he did not want to meet his wife Queen Victoria Eugenia. From her birth, as the daughter of the heir to the Crown of Spain she was given the title of
Infanta
''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...
of Spain with treatment of Royal Highness. However, the official recognition of that title came when her brother was already King of Spain.
When she was an infant, the family moved to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
where the Spanish Royal Family settled in exile. In 1941, after the resignation of Alfonso XIII, her father became the holder of the dynastic rights of the Spanish Crown in exile. During
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 opposing ...
in Switzerland, where her grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, lived. In 1946 the family resettled at
Estoril
Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...
Pilar needed to renounce her rights of succession to the Spanish throne to marry a commoner as stipulated by the Pragmatic Sanction of
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
on marriages of members of the royal family.
She married
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 ...
Luis Gómez-Acebo y Duque de Estrada, 2nd Viscount of La Torre (23 December 1934 – 9 March 1991) on 5 May 1967 in Lisbon,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
at
Jerónimos Monastery
The Jerónimos Monastery or Hieronymites Monastery ( pt, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, ) is a former monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome near the Tagus river in the parish of Belém, in the Lisbon Municipality, Portugal. It became the necropolis ...
, who obtained with his marriage the status of
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 ...
. They had five children:
*Doña María de Fátima Simoneta Luisa Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (31 October 1968)
*Don Juan Filiberto Nicolás Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, ''later'' 3rd Viscount of La Torre (6 December 1969)
*Don Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (15 June 1971)
*Don Luis Beltrán Ataúlfo Alfonso Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (20 May 1973)
*Don Fernando Humberto Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (13 September 1974)
Her husband died of
lymphatic cancer
Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...
on 9 March 1991.
Equestrian sport
Pilar de Borbón had been supporting international equestrian sport. She was President of the
International Equestrian Federation
The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports.
The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...
from 1994 to 2006, succeeded by HRH Princess
Haya bint al Hussein
Princess Haya bint Hussein ( ar, الأميرة هيا بنت الحسين; born 3 May 1974) is the daughter of King Hussein of Jordan and his third wife Queen Alia, and the half-sister of King Abdullah II.
She is a graduate of the University o ...
. She wrote the foreword of the official Spanish translation of the national instruction handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation, Técnicas Avanzadas de Equitación - Manual Oficial de Instrucción de la Federación Ecuestre Alemana.
From 1996 to 2006 she was a member of the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
for Spain, when she became an honorary member, and Member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
Philanthropic and other activities
Pilar de Borbón was one of the founders of ''Asociación Nuevo Futuro'' ("New Future Association") in 1968, an international child support organization, and was its president and then president of honor. Until her death, she was one of the leaders and supporters of the Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro event, which provided part of the income that financed Asociación. The event even received the visit of the Queens of Spain, Letzia and Sofia. ''Rastrillo has always been a place of meeting, solidarity and enjoyment for her'', wrote '' ¡Hola! magazine'' in January 2019. Her last public appearance was in "Rastrillo" on 23 November 2019.
Pilar de Borbón was also a member of the board of directors of the
Queen Sofía Spanish Institute
The Queen Sofía Spanish Institute is an organization in New York City, founded to promote the Spanish language and the culture of Spain and the Americas. Its office is located at 575 Madison Avenue, following the sale of the 684 Park Avenue locat ...
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 ...
, president of the
World Monuments Fund
World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...
España and, from 2007 to 2009, president of
Europa Nostra
Europa Nostra (Italian for "Our Europe") is a pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, representing citizens' organisations that work on safeguarding Europe's cultural and natural heritage. It is the voice of this movement to relevant inte ...
, the European Federation for the Defense of Cultural Heritage.
She was also a music fan and accompanied her brother, King Juan Carlos of Spain, and nephews to bullfighting matches.
Financial holdings
Mossack Fonseca
Mossack Fonseca & Co. () was a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider.Timothy Lloyd who had represented the undisclosed owner of the company said that Pilar de Borbón owned it. After March 1993, the intermediary representing the company was Madrid-based Abogados, a law firm founded by Pilar de Borbón's brother-in-law . From July 2006 until its dissolution in June 2014, five days before the installation of her nephew
Felipe VI
Felipe VI (;,
* eu, Felipe VI.a,
* ca, Felip VI,
* gl, Filipe VI, . Felipe Juan Pablo Alfonso de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Grecia; born 30 January 1968) is King of Spain. He is the son of former King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofía, and ...
, Pilar de Borbón's son Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo Borbón was director and treasurer of the company. On 7 April 2016 she admitted the accusations concerning the company were valid but made it clear that she never personally evaded taxes.
Illness and death
Pilar was operated for an intestinal obstruction on 2 February 2019 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 ...
, and was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2019, being made public in May of the same year. On 5 January 2020, she was admitted to the hospital as her condition worsened. She died 3 days later on 8 January 2020 at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, with her family at her side.
She was cremated on 9 January 2020 and her ashes were buried alongside her husband in
Saint Isidore Cemetery
Saint Isidore Cemetery is a monumental cemetery in the Spanish capital Madrid. Its first courtyard was erected in 1811 and new expansions were added throughout the 19th Century. Its central courtyard, called “Patio de la Concepción” (Concepti ...
, Madrid, in a private ceremony. On 28 January 2020, a funeral was held in her honor in
El Escorial
El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...
basilica, with the presence of her nephew, King Felipe VI of Spain, of former
Queen of the Netherlands
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
,
Princess Beatrix
Beatrix (Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard, ; born 31 January 1938) is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Beatrix is the eldest daughter of Queen Juliana and her husban ...
Duke of Braganza
The title Duke of Braganza ( pt, Duque de Bragança) in the House of Braganza is one of the most important titles in the peerage of Portugal. Starting in 1640, when the House of Braganza acceded to the throne of Portugal, the male heir of the P ...
Duarte Pio and with Spanish political authorities represented by
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
Carmen Calvo
María del Carmen Calvo Poyato (born 9 June 1957) is a Spanish politician and author who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Spain and Minister of the Presidency from 2018 to 2021.
Born and raised in Cabra, Spain, she attended the University ...
,
Mayor of Madrid
The Mayor of Madrid presides over the Madrid City Council, the government body of the capital city of Spain. The mayor has the duty of boosting the local policies, it directs the action of the other executive bodies, leads the Local Executive Admi ...
José Luis Martínez-Almeida
José Luis Martínez-Almeida Navasqüés (born 17 April 1975) is a Spanish state lawyer and politician. A member of the People's Party (PP), he has been a member of the Madrid City Council since 2015 and has been Mayor of Madrid since 2019.
...
and
President of the Congress of Deputies
The president of the Congress of Deputies ( es, Presidente del Congreso de los Diputados) is the speaker of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament). The president is elected among the members o ...
Meritxell Batet
Meritxell Batet Lamaña (born 19 March 1973) is a Spanish jurist and politician member of the Socialists' Party of Catalonia, currently serving as President of the Congress of Deputies. Prior to this, she served as Minister for Territorial Poli ...
.
Honours
National
* : Knight Grand Cross 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 ...
Order of Queen Maria Luisa
The Royal Order of Noble Ladies of Queen Maria Luisa is an Order created by King Charles IV of Spain by royal decree on April 21, 1792, at the request of his wife, Queen Maria Luisa, to reward noble women who distinguished themselves for their s ...
* : Knight Grand Cross of the
Royal Order of Sports Merit
The Royal Order of Sports Merit ( es, Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo) is a Spanish civil order of merit established in 18 June 1982. The order is indented to recognise distinguished service in sports, in teaching physical education, or the man ...
Foreign
*
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 Saints Olga and Sophia
The Royal Family Order of Saints Olga and Sophia ( el, Βασιλικόν Οἰκογενειακόν Τάγμα Ἁγίων Ὂλγας καὶ Σοφίας, Vasilikon Oikogeneiakon Tagma Agion Olgas kai Sofias) was an order of the Greek royal ...
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (SMOCG) ( it, Sacro Militare Ordine Costantiniano di San Giorgio, es, Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge), also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order ...