Duchess of Alba

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Today marks the 5th Anniversary of the Death of Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, the 18th Duchess of Alba, who died on this day in 2014! Born in 1962, she was the only daughter of the 17th Duke of Alba and the 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco, a goddaughter of King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenie, and grew up in Spain, Paris and London, where the Duke was the Spanish Ambassador during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. In 1947, the Duchess married Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz, son of the Duke of Sotomayor, with whom she had six children, and after his death, she was married to Jesús Aguirre until his death in 2011, and then married Alfonso Díez Carabantes in 2011, ceding titles and much of her wealth to her six children. The Duchess was the most titled aristocrat in the world, with over 40 hereditary titles, and the sole heir of the massive fortune of the House of Alba, concentrated at the Liria Palace in Madrid and the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, with hereditary privileges such as being the only person to enter the Seville Cathedral on horseback, and the only catholic exempted from kneeling before the Pope. An accomplished flamenco dancer, she was passionate about the preservation of Andalusian arts and customs, and also continued to expand the massive art collection in her 60 years as the Head of the House of Alba. The Duchess passed away in 2014, and was buried in a spectacular funeral in Seville.

Click HERE to learn about the Duchess of Alba’s Tiaras!

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Alba Ducal Coronet

Empress Eugénie’s Pearl Tiara

‘La Rusa’ Tiara

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