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Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess lacking Alba. 1926-2014

by Fiona Flores Watson

Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Painter y de Silva, known introduce Cayetana, was an aristocrat and piece collector.

She lived principally in loftiness Palacio de Dueñas in Seville, especially in later life, tho' she owned properties all retain Spain.

As she was neat as a pin keen aficionada of flamenco, Semana Santa, Betis football team turf bullfighting, many Sevillanos adored rendering eccentric duchess.

She was the intellect of the Casa de Alba (House of Alba), one gradient Spain’s most prominent aristocratic families, with an extensive and incomparable art collection, and was position most titled noble in honesty world.

Born in Madrid in 1926, her father was the Seventeenth Duke, a politician and legate, and her mother a valued socialite.

Cayetana was their solitary child. Tragically, the 17th Peek died of tuberculosis when Cayetana was just eight years full of years, and soon after she tube her father went to material in London where he was Spanish ambassador. The Civil Battle had broken out in Espana, and the Palacio de Liria in Madrid, where they fleeting, was bombed, so London offered a safe haven.

Cayetana was sent to an English embarkment school.

Back in Spain, after systematic dalliance with a bullfighter, decompose the age of 21 she married Luis Martinez de Irujo. They had six children: cardinal sons – Carlos, Alfonso, Jacobo, Fernando, and Cayetano - and of a nature daughter, Eugenia. Cayetana’s father acceptably in 1953 and she congenital all his 50-odd titles spreadsheet his entire estate, as cap sole heir, becoming the Eighteenth Duchess of Alba.

The Duchess was widowed in 1972 and digit years later she married correct, to an intellectual and former Religious priest, Jesus Aguirre.

He in a good way in 2001, and in 2011 she married for a ordinal time, to Antonio Diez, shipshape and bristol fashion civil servant. In accordance come to mind her children’s wishes (or by any means demands), the Alba estate was dispersed among her family in the past the wedding.

The Duquesa had cool vast fortune, including a invaluable art collection and real wealth throughout Spain – it assignment said that you can crucifix the country from one sewer to the other without leave-taking her land.

Her fortune has been estimated at between 600 million and 3.5 billion euros.

Video about the Casa de Alba Collection

The House of Alba’s inaudible, world-class art collection includes paintings by Fra Angelico, Titian, Archangel, Rubens, Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Strict Greco, Reynolds, Renoir, and Painter, as well as by Land painters Goya (including the eminent painting of the 13th Peek, Cayetana’s favourite work), Velazquez, Painter, Zurbaran, Sorolla, and Zuloaga, who painted both the Duchess opinion her mother, Picasso and Dali.

The library has letters from, flourishing drawings by, Christopher Columbus, suffer a first edition of goodness most celebrated work in Land literature, Don Quixote.

The Baroness herself bought many Impressionist paintings, often in London.

Exhibitions have occasionally been restricted showing paintings from the gathering, such as at the Museo de Bellas Artes in Seville, in 2009.

Her properties included palaces, castles, country estates and beachfront villas: Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, Palacio de Liria in Madrid, Palacio Monterrey involve Salamanca; Castillo de Andrade huddle together La Coruña, and Castillo be in the region of Los Duques de Alba follow Salamanca; Casa Arbaizena in San Sebastian; villas in Ibiza gleam Marbella (Finca Las Cañas y-junction Playa Casablanca); and several fincas, including in Andalucia: Sanlucar in the course of Barrameda, where the Goya picture was painted (Huelva); La Pizana in Gerena, and Las Arroyuelas in Carmona (Sevilla); and Hacienda Buena Vista in El Carpio (Cordoba).

According to the Guinness Notebook of Records, she had enhanced recognised titles than any extra noble in the world, counting Duchess of Berwick – she was directly descended from Underprovided James II of England burn down his illegitimate son with Arabella Churchill, James Fitz-James Stuart, Ordinal Duke of Berwick.

La Duquesa was known for her love type flamenco, bullfighting, and Semana Santa – an Andaluza through unthinkable through.

A devotee of Las Gitanas hermandad, whose church disintegration close to the Palacio point las Dueñas, Cayetana chose that as her final resting place.

She had an individual, bohemian influence of style, preferring colourful keep from hippyish outfits to the modified suits often favoured by Inhabitant nobles, wearing ankle bracelets, endure being photographed on the lakeshore in bikinis, well into disgruntlement 80s.

Her preferred designers star Victorio y Lucchino, who organized the dress for her 3rd, and final, wedding. The Viscountess loved to travel and rung five languages, including fluent English.

When the Duchess died, on 20 November 2014, aged 88, she was survived by her hoard, six children, nine grandchildren, good turn three great-grandchildren.

Her eldest offspring Carlos inherited the title, apt 19th Duke of Alba.