Duke of Alba

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Happy Birthday to Carlos Fitz-James Stuar y Martínez de Irujot, the 19th Duke of Alba! The eldest son of the 18th Duchess of Alba (the most titled aristocrat in the world) and Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz, the then Duke of Huéscar grew up at the Liria Palace in Madrid and the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, and obtained a degree in law at the Complutense University of Madrid and now works as an adviser for several cultural institutions, including the Hispania Nostra Foundation, the Valencia de Don Juan Institute, and the Hispanic Society of America. In 1988, the Duke married Matilde de Solís-Beaumont, daughter of the 10th Marquess of la Motilla, and the couple had two sons, the current Duke of Huéscar and the Count of Osorno, before their divorce in 2004. In 2014, the Duke succeeded his mother as the Duke of Alba, one of Spain’s most illustrious aristocratic titles, and became the Head massive fortune of the House of Alba, concentrated at the Liria Palace and the Palacio de las Dueñas among a plethora of family estates, with hereditary privileges such as being the only person to enter the Seville Cathedral on horseback. The Duke also inherited an additional 38 aristocratic titles, some others went to his siblings, and is now the 2nd most titled aristocrat, after the Duchess of Medinaceli, who has 43 titles. We wish His Excellency a Very Happy Birthday and Many Happy Returns!

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