María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba GE (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014) was a Spanish aristocrat.
She was the third woman of the House of Alba to hold the Dukedom of Alba in her own right. Also, during her life, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world, as recognized by The Guinness Book of Records; she was grandee of Spain fourteen times and had around 50 noble titles. This record is now held by Princess Victoria of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 20th Duchess of Medinaceli.
Contents
First years
Born in Liria Palace in Madrid on 28 March 1926, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was the only child of Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 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 eighth great-granddaughter of James II and VII.
She was baptized on 17 April 1926 in the Royal Chapel, her godparents being King Alfonso XIII and his wife, Queen Victoria Eugenia. For her baptism, the baptismal font of Santo Domingo de Guzmán was brought, which is only used to baptize monarchs or their descendants.
Almost everyone knew her as Cayetana, the name she preferred. Her father called her "Tanuca" and Queen Sofia and other close associates called her "Tana".
A few months after Cayetana was born, her mother, María del Rosario, fell ill with tuberculosis. To prevent infection, part of the Liria Palace was reserved for María del Rosario. The domestic staff tried to keep Cayetana away from her mother, and if the girl ever tried to avoid them, her mother would try to stop her by throwing something to make her run away. These traumatic situations remained forever in Cayetana's memory.
Socialite
As a socialite, the Duchess met famous VIPs from Spain and abroad. Jackie Kennedy visited her Seville palace, as did Wallis Simpson, Princess Grace and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and King Constantine II of Greece. In 1959, the Duchess, together with designer Yves Saint Laurent, hosted a Dior show for charitable purposes in her Liria Palace, Madrid, a palace which movie stars Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Raf Vallone visited. In her youth the Duchess posed for Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton and she appeared on the cover of Time and Harper's Bazaar.
She was inducted into Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List 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 of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain. The wedding in Spain, two years after the end of World War II, 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 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.
The couple had five sons, one daughter and nine grandchildren.
Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 19th Duke of Alba (born 2 October 1948, Madrid)
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)
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 priest. The wedding caused shock; Aguirre was illegitimate, 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.
Death
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, 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's body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of people paid their last respects. Pictures of the Duchess with her family were placed at her coffin. The King of Spain 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. Juan José Asenjo and Curro Romero, and Mariano Rajoy, Spain's prime minister, also formally paid their respects. Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Carlos Amigo Vallejo, where the Spanish Royal Family was represented by the Infanta Elena.
Titles, honours and arms
Titles
As head of the dynasty, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was styled by her most senior title of "Duchess of Alba", while having held over 50 other hereditary titles during her lifetime. She was 14 times a Grandee of Spain. According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.
Dukedoms
18th Duchess of Alba, Grandee of Spain
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 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
Honorary appointments
National honorary appointments
Castilla-La Mancha: Marshal of Castilla-La Mancha
Aragon: Constable of Aragon
Llíria: Honorary Mayor of Llíria
Seville: Knight of the Royal Cavalry Armory of Seville
Spain: Honorary President of the Spanish Red Cross
Spain: Honorary President of the Spanish National Orchestra
Spain: Honorary President of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando
Foreign honorary appointments
United States: Member of the Hispanic Society of America
United States: Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences