Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó, 17th Duke of Alba, 10th Duke of Berwick, GE (17 October 1878 – 24 September 1953) was a Spanish

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

art collector A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

and Olympic medalist. A Jacobite, he was the most senior surviving male-line descendant of James II, and despite having never made a claim, he was considered by some as the legitimate heir to the throne of Scotland. He was one of the most important aristocrats of his time and held, among other titles, the dukedoms of Alba de Tormes and Berwick, the Countship of Lemos,

Lerín View of Lerín Lerín is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. External links LERIN in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia Euskomedia Fundazioa The Euskomedia Funda ...

, Montijo and the Marquessate of Carpio. He was granted the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

of Spain in 1926. A close friend and relative of the British royal family, he was one of the leading guests at the Wedding of Queen Elizabeth II in 1947.

Family

The Duke was born on 17 October 1878 in Palace of Liria in Madrid, the first son of Carlos María Fitz-James Stuart, 16th Duke of Alba and María del Rosario Falcó, 21st Countess of Siruela. Don Jacobo was baptised only a few days after with the name "Santiago", a variant of Jacobo. His godparents were his paternal grandfather, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 15th Duke of Alba and his maternal grandmother María del Pilar Ossorio y Gutiérrez de los Ríos, 3rd Duchess of Fernán Núñez. On 7 October 1920 he married Maria del Rosario de Silva, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco (Madrid, 4 April 1900 – Madrid, 11 January 1934), lady of the bedchamber to Queen Victoria Eugenie and sole heiress to the enormous fortune and long list of titles of the house of Híjar as the only child of Alfonso de Silva, 16th Duke of Híjar and her mother María del Rosario Gurtubay, at the Spanish Embassy in London. The two had a single daughter, Cayetana, who inherited all of the family's titles and fortune.

Early years

He carried out his first studies under private tutors, but was later sent to England to study at

Beaumont College Beaumont College was between 1861 and 1967 a public school in Old Windsor in Berkshire. Founded and run by the Society of Jesus, it offered a Roman Catholic public school education in rural surroundings, while lying, like the neighbouring Eto ...

, followed by Eton. After returning to Spain, he continued with his higher education enrolling in the Universidad Central de Madrid, where he obtained his bachelor's degree in Law.

Diplomatic career

He served as Lord of the Bedchamber to the young King

Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

, who had acceded on his birth. In May 1902, royal visitors came to

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 ...

for the festivities to mark the King's birthday and enthronement. The Duke received the Knight Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(GCVO) from the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was also ...

, who was present for the festivities. Between 2 February 1930 and 18 February 1931, Alba was Foreign Minister of Spain. During the Spanish Civil War, the Communists occupied his residence, the Palace of Liria, which his daughter later restored, and they murdered his younger brother Hernando Carlos Maria Theresa Fitz-James Stuart y Falco (1882-1936). Alba became

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

's official representative in London and opened the new building at Campion Hall, University of Oxford, in June 1936, alongside Alban Goodier S.J., the former Archbishop of Bombay, and the Earl of Oxford. He was still the ambassador there in 1939, when

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeaseme ...

's cabinet formally gave to Franco's Nationalists diplomatic recognition. The master Soviet spy

Kim Philby Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby (1 January 191211 May 1988) was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring which had divulged British s ...

wrote in his memoir ''My Silent War'' that the Spanish diplomatic bag during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

was regularly accessed, "and from it elearnt that Alba periodically sent to Madrid despatches on the British political scene of quite exceptional quality. As we had no doubt that the Spanish Foreign Ministry would make them available to the German allies, these despatches represented a really serious leakage. Yet there was nothing that could be done. There was no evidence that the Duke had obtained his information improperly. He simply moved with people in the know and reported what they said, with shrewd commentaries of his own." In fact,

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of In ...

was warned of this possibility in October 1943, as his Private Secretary Sir

Alan Lascelles Sir Alan Frederick "Tommy" Lascelles, (; 11 April 1887 – 10 August 1981) was a British courtier and civil servant who held several positions in the first half of the twentieth century, culminating in his position as Private Secretary to both ...

reported in his diary, and advised not to say anything that he did not want to reach the enemy. After the war, Alba's relations with Franco markedly cooled, the result of Alba supporting a prompt monarchist restoration much more than Franco. Alba was a leading guest at the 1947

wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten took place on Thursday 20 November 1947 at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom. The bride was the elder daughter of King George VI and heir presumptive to the British throne. The ...

Olympic career

He won a silver medal in

polo at the 1920 Summer Olympics Polo returned to the Olympic program at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp, after not being contested at the 1912 Games. Four teams competed. Great Britain repeated as Olympic champions (though they had all three teams competing in 1908, so h ...

Honours

* 1902: Knight Grand Cross

. * 1925: Grand Cordon Order of Leopold. * 1926: Knight

.Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) - 28 May 1926
/ref>

Titles and styles

Titles

Dukedoms

* 17th Duke of Alba, Grandee of Spain * 13th Duke of Huéscar, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to his grandson Don Carlos * 10th Duke of Berwick, Grandee of Spain (also English peerage) * 10th Duke of Liria and Jérica, Grandee of Spain * 10th Duke of Montoro, Grandee of Spain -Ceded to his daughter Doña Cayetana * 2nd Duke of Arjona, Grandee of Spain Alba y Churchill

Count-Dukedoms

* 11th Count-Duke of Olivares, Grandee of Spain

Marquessates

* 17th Marquess of Carpio, Grandee of Spain * 22nd Marquess of Coria * 19th Marquess of Ardales -Ceded to his sister Doña Sol * 19th Marquess of la Mota * 19th Marquess of Moya * 18th Marquess of Sarria * 17th Marquess of Barcarrota * 17th Marquess of Villanueva del Fresno * 16th Marquess of Villanueva del Río * 15th Marquess of la Albaga * 13th Marquess of Eliche * 13th Marquess of San Leonardo * 11th Marquess of Osera * 11th Marquess of Tarazona

Countships

* 21st

Count of Lemos Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

, Grandee of Spain * 21st Count of Siruela, Grandee of Spain * 19th Count of Lerín, Grandee of Spain, Constable of Navarre * 11th

Count of Montijo Count of Montijo ( es, Conde de Montijo) is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1599 by Philip III to Juan Portocarrero, Lord of Montijo, mayordomo mayor and a knight of the Order of San ...

, Grandee of Spain * 19th Count of Osorno, Grandee of Spain * 15th Count of Monterrey, Grandee of Spain * 13th

Count of Baños Count of Baños ( es, Conde de Baños) is an hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1621 by Philip IV to Sancho Martínez de Leyva, ''iure uxoris'' Marquess of Leyva and knight of the Order o ...

, Grandee of Spain * 24th Count of San Esteban de Gormaz * 20th Count of Miranda del Castañar * 20th Count 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 ...

) * 19th Count of Villalba * 18th Count of Andrade * 17th Count of Gelves * 16th Count of Galve * 15th Count of Casarrubios del Monte * 15th Count of Fuentes de Valdepero * 13th Count of Ayala * 11th Count of Santa Cruz de la Sierra * 10th Count of Fuentidueña * 10th Earl of Tinmouth (English peerage)

Viscountcies

* 11th Viscount of la Calzada

Baronies

* 10th Baron Bosworth (English peerage)

Styles

* ''

The Most Excellent The Most Excellent ( Spanish: ''Excelentísimo Señor'' (male) or ''Excelentísima Señora'' (female), literally "Most Excellent Sir/Madam") is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in Spain and certain Spanish-speak ...

'' The Duke of Huéscar (1878–1901) * ''The Most Excellent'' The Duke of Alba de Tormes (1901–1953)

Coat of arms

Coat of Arms of the 17th Duke of Alba (as Knight of the Golden Fleece and Charles III).svg, Coat of arms of Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falcó as Duke of Alba

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stuart, Jacobo Fitz-James, 17th Duke of Alba 1878 births 1953 deaths 20th-century art collectors Jacobo Fitz-James Dukes of Montoro Dukes of Huéscar Marquesses of Spain Counts of Spain Viscounts of Spain Foreign ministers of Spain Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Spanish people of English descent Grandees of Spain Spanish anti-communists Marquesses of Carpio International Olympic Committee members Berwick, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 10th Duke of People educated at Eton College People educated at Beaumont College Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Spanish polo players Polo players at the 1920 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in polo Olympic polo players of Spain Olympic silver medalists for Spain Medalists at the 1920 Summer Olympics Spanish nobility