Thanks to this, his children and grandchildren were related to the reigning monarchs in Spain. Philip II at the beginning of his reign patronized his cousin, 3rd Duke of Alba. This once famous commander went down in history with the brutal suppression of the Dutch Revolution (in 1567-73 he ruled the Spanish Netherlands on behalf of the king).
The 3rd Duke of Alba was succeeded by his son, the 4th Duke, who added the Duchy of Huescar to his possessions. The titles passed from father to son until Francisco Alvarez de Toledo (1662-1739), 10th Duke of Alba. He had no sons, and he chose Count Galve from the Silva-Mendoza family as his daughter’s husband - youngest son Duke of the Infantad.
Rod Silva
This marriage produced the 12th Duke of Alba (1714-78), known for his friendly relations with Rousseau. His son Duke of Huescar died before his father, but left a daughter named Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva and Alvarez de Toledo. She is known for her patronage of the artist Goya. The Duchess of Alba had no children in her marriage to the 15th Duke of Medina Sidonia (a direct descendant of the 1st Duke Fernardino). After her sudden death in 1802, the ducal title was inherited by the descendants of the marriage of the 12th Duke of Alba's sister to the Duke of Berwick of the FitzJames family.
Fitzjames
The FitzJames family descends in the male line from the illegitimate son of James II Stuart and Arabella Churchill (sister of the Duke of Marlborough). The eldest son of the 4th Duke of Berwick and Liria from his marriage to the Princess of Stolberg-Gedern inherited his father's titles, and the youngest, Carlos Miguel (1794-1835), became the 14th Duke of Alba. The next Duke, the son and heir of the previous one, was married to the sister of the French Empress Eugenie, who died in 1920 while visiting the Alba family. The 17th Duke of Alba represented the interests of Francisco Franco in London in the late 1930s.
The 18th Duchess of Alba was born in 1926 at the Liria Palace in Madrid. According to the Guinness Book of Records, she held more titles officially recognized by the government than anyone else. In total, the Duchess of Alba inherited over forty titles from her ancestors. With a fortune estimated at 600 million euros, she was considered the richest aristocrat in Spain.
In October 2011, the 85-year-old Duchess married 60-year-old official Alfonso Diez in the Duenna Palace in Seville. During the celebrations, she started dancing. Her daughter Eugenia Martinez de Irujo, Duchess of Montoro, was married to the famous hereditary bullfighter Francisco Rivera Ordoñez and is raising their common daughter Cayetana (born 1999).
The Duchess of Alba died on November 20, 2014 while undergoing treatment at the Sagrado Corazón Clinic, Seville, where she was hospitalized due to cardiac arrhythmia, pneumonia and exacerbation of gastroenteritis.
List of dukes
- Don Garcia Alvarez de Toledo (c. 1424 - 1488), 1st Duke of Alba (1472-1488)
- Don Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo (1460-1531), 2nd Duke of Alba (1488-1531)
- Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (1507-1582), 3rd Duke of Alba (1531-1582)
- Don Fadrique Alvarez de Toledo (1537-1583), 4th Duke of Alba (1582-1583)
- Don Antonio Alvarez de Toledo y Beaumont (1568-1639), 5th Duke of Alba (1583-1639)
- Don Fernando Alvarez de Toledo y Mendoza (1595-1667), 6th Duke of Alba (1639-1667)
- Don Antonio Alvarez de Toledo y Pimentel (1615-1690), 7th Duke of Alba (1667-1690)
- Don Antonio Alvarez de Toledo y Beaumont (1627-1701), 8th Duke of Alba (1690-1701)
- Don Antonio Martin Alvarez de Toledo Guzmán (1669-1711), 9th Duke of Alba (1701-1711)
- Don Francisco Alvarez de Toledo (1662-1739), 10th Duke of Alba (1711-1739)
- Doña Maria Teresa Alvarez de Toledo (1691-1755), 11th Duchess of Alba (1739-1755)
- Don Fernando de Silva and Alvarez de Toledo (1714-1776), 12th Duke of Alba (1755-1776)
- Doña Maria del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Alvarez de Toledo (1762-1802), 13th Duchess of Alba (1776-1802), since she had no direct heirs, the title after her death passed to her relative Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stewart.
- Don Carlos Miguel Fitz-James Stuart (1794-1835), 14th Duke of Alba (1802-1835)
- Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart (1821-1881), 15th Duke of Alba (1835-1881)
- Don Carlos Maria Fitz-James Stuart e Portocarrero (1849-1901), 16th Duke of Alba (1881-1901)
- Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart and Falco (1878-1953), 17th Duke of Alba (1901-1953)
- Doña Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (1926-2014)
- Don Carlos Fitz-James Stuart and Martinez de Irujo (b.), 19th Duke of Alba (since 20 November 2014)
Domains of the Dukes of Alba
The Dukes of Alba own a significant art gallery. The most valuable paintings - such as “Venus in front of a mirror”, “Maja Nude” and “Madonna Alba” - were sold after the death of the 13th Duchess. In addition, the Alba Codex, dating from the 15th century, with one of the first translations of the Bible directly from Hebrew into the Roman language, bears the name of the dukes.
| Coca Castle near Segovia | Castle Miranda del Castañar | Liria Palace (Madrid) |
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Excerpt characterizing the Dukes of Alba
“Yes, yes,” the countess repeated and, shaking her whole body, laughed with a kind, unexpected old woman’s laugh.“Stop laughing, stop,” Natasha shouted, “you’re shaking the whole bed.” You look terribly like me, the same laugher... Wait... - She grabbed both hands of the countess, kissed the little finger bone on one - June, and continued to kiss July, August on the other hand. - Mom, is he very much in love? How about your eyes? Were you so in love? And very sweet, very, very sweet! But it’s not quite to my taste - it’s narrow, like a table clock... Don’t you understand?... Narrow, you know, gray, light...
- Why are you lying! - said the countess.
Natasha continued:
- Do you really not understand? Nikolenka would understand... The earless one is blue, dark blue with red, and he is quadrangular.
“You flirt with him too,” said the countess, laughing.
- No, he is a Freemason, I found out. It’s nice, dark blue and red, how can I explain it to you...
“Countess,” the count’s voice was heard from behind the door. -Are you awake? – Natasha jumped up barefoot, grabbed her shoes and ran into her room.
She couldn't sleep for a long time. She kept thinking that no one could understand everything that she understood and that was in her.
"Sonya?" she thought, looking at the sleeping, curled up cat with her huge braid. “No, where should she go!” She is virtuous. She fell in love with Nikolenka and doesn’t want to know anything else. Mom doesn’t understand either. It’s amazing how smart I am and how... she’s sweet,” she continued, speaking to herself in the third person and imagining that some very smart, smartest and nicest man was talking about her... “Everything, everything is in her.” , - continued this man, - she is unusually smart, sweet and then good, unusually good, dexterous, swims, rides excellently, and has a voice! One might say, an amazing voice!” She sang her favorite musical phrase from the Cherubini Opera, threw herself on the bed, laughed with the joyful thought that she was about to fall asleep, shouted to Dunyasha to put out the candle, and before Dunyasha had time to leave the room, she had already passed into another, even happier world of dreams , where everything was as easy and wonderful as in reality, but it was only even better, because it was different.
The next day, the countess, inviting Boris to her place, talked with him, and from that day he stopped visiting the Rostovs.
On December 31, on New Year's Eve 1810, le reveillon [night supper], there was a ball at Catherine's nobleman's house. The diplomatic corps and the sovereign were supposed to be at the ball.
On the Promenade des Anglais, the famous house of a nobleman glowed with countless lights. At the illuminated entrance with a red cloth stood the police, and not only gendarmes, but the police chief at the entrance and dozens of police officers. The carriages drove off, and new ones drove up with red footmen and footmen with feathered hats. Men in uniforms, stars and ribbons came out of the carriages; ladies in satin and ermine carefully stepped down the noisily laid down steps, and hurriedly and silently walked along the cloth of the entrance.
Almost every time a new carriage arrived, there was a murmur in the crowd and hats were taken off.
“Sovereign?... No, minister... prince... envoy... Don’t you see the feathers?...” said from the crowd. One of the crowd, better dressed than the others, seemed to know everyone, and called by name the most noble nobles of that time.
Already one third of the guests had arrived at this ball, and the Rostovs, who were supposed to be at this ball, were still hastily preparing to dress.
There was a lot of talk and preparation for this ball in the Rostov family, a lot of fears that the invitation would not be received, the dress would not be ready, and everything would not work out as needed.
Along with the Rostovs, Marya Ignatievna Peronskaya, a friend and relative of the countess, a thin and yellow maid of honor of the old court, leading the provincial Rostovs in the highest St. Petersburg society, went to the ball.
At 10 o'clock in the evening the Rostovs were supposed to pick up the maid of honor at the Tauride Garden; and yet it was already five minutes to ten, and the young ladies were not yet dressed.
Natasha was going to the first big ball in her life. That day she got up at 8 o'clock in the morning and was in feverish anxiety and activity all day. All her strength, from the very morning, was aimed at ensuring that they all: she, mother, Sonya were dressed in the best possible way. Sonya and the Countess trusted her completely. The countess was supposed to be wearing a masaka velvet dress, the two of them were wearing white smoky dresses on pink, silk covers with roses in the bodice. The hair had to be combed a la grecque [in Greek].
Everything essential had already been done: the legs, arms, neck, ears were already especially carefully, like a ballroom, washed, perfumed and powdered; they were already wearing silk, fishnet stockings and white satin shoes with bows; the hairstyles were almost finished. Sonya finished dressing, and so did the Countess; but Natasha, who was working for everyone, fell behind. She was still sitting in front of the mirror with a peignoir draped over her slender shoulders. Sonya, already dressed, stood in the middle of the room and, pressing painfully with her small finger, pinned the last ribbon that squealed under the pin.
“Not like that, not like that, Sonya,” said Natasha, turning her head away from her hair and grabbing the hair with her hands, which the maid who was holding it did not have time to let go. - Not like that, come here. – Sonya sat down. Natasha cut the tape differently.
“Excuse me, young lady, you can’t do this,” said the maid holding Natasha’s hair.
- Oh, my God, well, later! That's it, Sonya.
-Are you coming soon? – the countess’s voice was heard, “it’s already ten.”
- Now. -Are you ready, mom?
- Just pin the current.
“Don’t do it without me,” Natasha shouted, “you won’t be able to!”
- Yes, ten.
It was decided to be at the ball at half past ten, and Natasha still had to get dressed and stop by the Tauride Garden.
Having finished her hair, Natasha, in a short skirt, from which her ballroom shoes were visible, and in her mother’s blouse, ran up to Sonya, examined her and then ran to her mother. Turning her head, she pinned the current, and, barely having time to kiss her gray hair, again ran to the girls who were hemming her skirt.
The issue was Natasha's skirt, which was too long; Two girls were hemming it, hastily biting the threads. The third, with pins in her lips and teeth, ran from the Countess to Sonya; the fourth held her entire smoky dress on her raised hand.
- Mavrusha, rather, my dear!
- Give me a thimble from there, young lady.
- Soon, finally? - said the count, entering from behind the door. - Here's some perfume for you. Peronskaya is already tired of waiting.
“It’s ready, young lady,” said the maid, lifting the hemmed smoky dress with two fingers and blowing and shaking something, expressing with this gesture an awareness of the airiness and purity of what she was holding.
Natasha began to put on her dress.
“Now, now, don’t go, dad,” she shouted to her father, who opened the door, still from under the haze of her skirt, which covered her entire face. Sonya slammed the door. A minute later the count was let in. He was in a blue tailcoat, stockings and shoes, perfumed and oiled.
- Oh, dad, you are so good, dear! – Natasha said, standing in the middle of the room and straightening the folds of the haze.
“Excuse me, young lady, allow me,” said the girl, standing on her knees, pulling off her dress and turning the pins from one side of her mouth to the other with her tongue.
- Your will! - Sonya cried out with despair in her voice, looking at Natasha’s dress, - your will, it’s long again!
Natasha moved away to look around in the dressing table. The dress was long.
“By God, madam, nothing is long,” said Mavrusha, crawling on the floor behind the young lady.
“Well, it’s long, so we’ll sweep it up, we’ll sweep it up in a minute,” said the determined Dunyasha, taking out a needle from the handkerchief on her chest and getting back to work on the floor.
He was born in 1507 and belonged to one of the most famous Spanish families. In the third year of his life, he lost his father and remained in the care of his grandfather, Ferdinand de Toledo, who gave him an excellent education, and especially tried to improve him in military and political sciences. Young Alba, being only 16 years old, already took part in the campaign of the Castilian constable against France, and was present at the capture of Fontarabia, and the next year (1525) distinguished himself in the famous battle of Pavia . The name of Alba became even more famous during the campaign of Charles V in Hungary against the Turkish Sultan Suleiman II, and in other wars that shook Europe at the beginning of the 16th century. His gloomy disposition was, however, the reason that Charles V did not trust his military abilities for a long time, until he discovered them most brilliantly. Returning with an army from Africa, where, under the leadership of the emperor, he participated in the conquest of Tunisia and the defeat of the bloody pirate Barbarossa, Alba, against his wishes, had to begin the siege of Marseilles, which, according to his predictions, was unsuccessful. In 1541, he took part in an unsuccessful campaign against Algeria, and in 1543 he withstood a 6-month siege of the French in Perpignan, and distinguished himself in Navarre and Catalonia. In 1545, Charles V went to Germany, and left the government of Spain to his 16-year-old son Philip, entrusting him to the councils of Alba.
Duke of Alba. Artist A. Moreau, 1549
Less than 40 years old, the duke was already made generalissimo of the imperial troops, and led them in the war against Schmalkalden Union; guided by his advice, the emperor won in 1547 Battle of Mühlberg, so detrimental to John Frederick, Elector of Saxony, who was captured here. The perspicacious Alba even then advised Karl not to trust Moritz of Saxony, and the further course of events justified his fears. After the incident in Innsbruck, where Charles V was almost captured by Moritz, and after imprisonment Treaty of Passau, Alba returned to Spain, and accompanied Prince Philip on a trip to Italy and Germany.
Meanwhile it opened new war with France. Charles V besieged Metz, defended by the Duke of Guise, and summoned Alba to him; but this siege, despite all the efforts of the Spaniards, was unsuccessful. After its removal, the Duke of Alba was sent to Italy against Pope Paul IV, the implacable enemy of the emperor. Having defeated the papal troops and terrified Rome, he turned against the Duke of Guise, who had come to the aid of the pope, and with skillful maneuvers weakened and exhausted his courageous opponent to the point that he was forced to return to France. At this very time, Charles V abdicated the throne in favor of his son Philip II, and Alba, by the will of his young sovereign, had to not only return to the pope all the regions he had conquered, but even on his knees beg for forgiveness for what he dared to raise against his sword. In 1555, he concluded a marriage alliance between Philip II and Elizabeth, daughter of the French king Henry II, in Paris, after which he was the head of the Madrid cabinet until the very beginning of the religious (Protestant) uprising in the Netherlands, which then belonged to Spain.
Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo
This is where it starts for Alba new period, in which he strengthened his glory as a great commander, but at the same time stained himself with inhumanity and fanaticism. Having received orders from Philip II to pacify the Dutch provinces that rebelled against Spain with severity, he went to Flanders with 8,000 selected troops. At the mere news of his approach, about a mass of the richest citizens of the Netherlands, devoted to Protestantism, left their fatherland and moved to England, or gathered under the banner of Prince William of Orange, who had retired to Germany. In August 1567, Alba accepted the Dutch viceroy from the peace-loving and weak Duchess of Parma. Having stationed his troops in the main cities and built citadels in them at the expense of the citizens, he appointed his favorite, the frantic Juan Vargas, as chairman of the inquisitorial court, which began to act with incredible cruelty and for which history gave the name bloody. Fame, wealth, nobility, intelligence - everything was a crime in the eyes of unforgiving judges: Counts Egmont And Horn, the flower of the Dutch nobility, and many other nobles died on the scaffold. Their estates were plundered by Spanish soldiers.
Alba defeated Prince Louis of Nassau on the Plain of Eming (1568), and even William of Orange was no happier in the fight against such a skillful and experienced enemy. Abandoned by the Belgians, he was forced to retreat to Germany. The Pope sent Alba, the conqueror of the Protestants, to Brussels a consecrated hat and sword. Alba himself erected a statue for himself in the Antwerp citadel, which depicted him trampling with his feet two allegorical figures, signifying the noble and civil classes of the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the hatred of the people against the persecutors grew more and more, and when, in addition to the previous burdensome taxes, Alba, in order to cover the costs of the war, demanded from the citizens a tenth of all their property, the unrest became general, and many cities in northern Holland submitted to the Prince of Orange. But luck once again favored Alba: most of these cities were again taken by the Spaniards. He himself took possession of Mons; His son, Don Friedrich de Toledo, conquered Harlem after a defense that lasted 7 months and cost the Spaniards up to 10,000 troops. The revenge of the victors was terrible: cities and regions were plundered and devastated by them.
But despite these successes, Alba's position became more and more difficult: lack of money and military needs, bold actions of the naval gezov and the participation that the Protestant sovereigns of Germany began to take in the fate of the unfortunate country deprived him of hope for success. Philip himself was convinced that it was impossible to act with strictness alone, and therefore in 1573 he sent a new governor, Requesens, to replace Alba. In December of the same year, the stern Duke, accompanied by the curses of the people, left the country in which he had executed, in his own words, 18,000 citizens, and ignited a war that then lasted 68 years and cost Spain 800 million thalers.
Alba received an excellent reception in Madrid, but he did not enjoy his former influence on affairs for long. The disobedience of one of his sons to the will of the king was the reason for his removal from the court. He lived for two years in his castle of Usede, until, after the death of the Portuguese king Henry, who had no direct heirs, Don Antonio proclaimed himself king of Portugal. Philip, who also had claims to the Portuguese crown, again resorted to the experience of his old commander. 73-year-old Alba re-entered the military field, and this last campaign was perhaps more brilliant than all his previous ones. In three weeks he won two battles, of which the one that was fought on the banks of the river is especially noteworthy. Alcantara(1580), conquered the entire kingdom, and solemnly entered Lisbon, whose outskirts were set on fire, and the city itself was sacked. Philip, dissatisfied with this act, demanded from Alba an account of the countless sums he had seized; but this time the duke did not show his usual submission, and Philip, probably fearing his indignation, abandoned the matter. Soon after, Alba died on January 12, 1582, in Lisbon, as Viceroy of Portugal at the age of 74.
The Duke of Alba was small in stature, but strongly built, and had an important posture, slept little, worked and wrote a lot. It is said that during his sixty years of military service he did not lose a single battle. He is, without a doubt, one of the greatest commanders of his age; but cruelty and fanaticism forever stained his memory. Alba was the first to arm the infantry with muskets and train the cavalry to act in close formation.
A woman known for her passion for numerous plastic surgery who changed her appearance beyond recognition, extreme extravagance, eccentric behavior and unusual style in clothes - the Duchess of Alba (we will present a photo of her in the review) quite often became the heroine not only of gossip columns, but also of various scandalous publications.
Origin
To describe in detail the history of the ancient aristocratic family to which the 17th Duchess of Alba belongs, more than one hundred pages will be needed. In short, it dates back to 1429, when King Juan II of Spain gave a large estate called Alba de Tormes to Don Gutierre de Toledo for his faithful service. Since the owner of the estate did not have his own children, his nephew, Garcia de Toledo, also known as the first Duke of Alba, became his heir. Soon he became related to the Spanish royal house - his wife was the aunt of Ferdinand II of Aragon, who was nicknamed the Catholic King.
Over several centuries, the number of regalia, thanks to numerous marriages, increased so much that the total number of official titles approached fifty. This fact is included in the Guinness Book of Records. The Duchess of Alba is of such noble birth that Queen Elizabeth II of England must let her pass first and curtsy in her presence. Also, Cayetana is not obliged to kneel even before the Pope himself.
Birth of a daughter
The XVII Duke of Alba dreamed of an heir all his life, but on March 28, 1926, in the Spanish capital, on Princess Street, in the Palace de Liria, his daughter Cayetana was born (her full name is Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James Stuart de Silva). At this time, Ortega y Gasset and Gregorio Marañon were visiting the house. They witnessed this event.
At that time, the Duke of Alba was 48 years old. It was clear that Don Jacobo would no longer have sons, and this had nothing to do with the Duke’s advanced age. This is due to his wife's tuberculosis, which developed some time after the birth of the child. It is worth noting that at that time this disease was considered fatal. To protect the girl from possible infection, she was not only not allowed to approach her mother, but also to enter the part of the palace where the apartments of the dying duchess were located. Her mother died when Cayetana was 8 years old.
The baptism of the heiress of the de Alba family was a truly great event for the Spanish aristocracy. This is evidenced by the fact that the Spanish royal couple, Alfonso XIII and Victoria Eugenia, became the girl’s godparents, and the entire court came to the celebration. In connection with the revolutionary events in the country, the autocrats will soon be expelled, and the Duchess of Alba, like her family, will retain devotion and respect for the monarchs throughout her life.
First love
There were more than enough fans of blue blood around the young and fabulously rich titled heiress, and they all vied with each other to offer her their hand and heart. By the way, among the potential contenders was the nephew of the great Russian writer, Count Tolstoy. But Cayetana did not like slender aristocrats. She preferred courageous bullfighters and flamenco performers. Therefore, it is not surprising that a very pretty 17-year-old girl, and this is exactly what the Duchess of Alba was in her youth, first fell in love with the matador Pepe Luis Vazquez.
Don Jacobo, as expected, was dissatisfied with his daughter's behavior. And after some thought, he sent her back to London, where the two of them had lived together before. The fact is that after the expulsion of the monarchs, the Duke served as ambassador to Great Britain and was forced, despite his monarchist beliefs, to defend the Franco regime. He had very strained relations with the dictator. The history of enmity began with the fact that Don Jacobo refused to organize the first joint appearance of their daughters. Franco, of course, did not forgive him for such arrogance. When the disgraced king of Spain called on his supporters to leave the service of the dictator, the Duke of Alba returned with his daughter to Madrid.
First marriage
At the beginning of 1946, Cayetana met Luis Martinez de Irujo, her future husband. He was the son of the Duke of Sotomayor and was a worthy contender for the role of husband of the wealthy heiress of the Alba family. A year and a half later, what historians dubbed the “last feudal wedding” was held in Seville, pursuing dynastic interests and, moreover, luxurious to the point of indecency. Judge for yourself, 20 million pesetas were spent on organizing this event, which corresponds to the modern exchange rate of 3.5 million euros. And this in a hungry country! The wedding was arranged so magnificently that the wedding of the future Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II, celebrated a month later, looked completely colorless against its background.
Savor
When Don Jacobo dies in 1953, the Duchess of Alba becomes the rightful head of the aristocratic house. Now that she is completely freed from her father's strict pressure, Cayetana decides to live the way she wants - to throw luxurious balls, dance her favorite flamenco and have fun at the bullfight.
In 1959, the Palacio de Liria, which was badly damaged during the bombing, was completely restored. By the way, the Duchess of Alba in her youth (see photo above) was a very pretty woman and dressed with taste. She could easily be called a trendsetter in Spanish fashion. Therefore, the first fashion show of Yves Saint Laurent was organized in her palace. The entire elite of Spain was present at the show, which caused a real sensation not only in the country, but also abroad.
Some time later, a new tragedy occurs in the Alba family - the Duke Consort falls ill with leukemia. Cayetana decides to keep the severity of the disease a secret from both the children and himself. Luis Martinez knew nothing about his terrible diagnosis until his very last days. In 1972 he dies in terrible agony. The twenty-five year marriage came to an end.
Heirs
The children of the Duchess of Alba, and there were six of them - five sons and a daughter - were all born in this marriage. But still, this statement is controversial, since at one time there were persistent rumors that Cayetana’s fourth son, Fernando, was not the child of Luis Martinez. His paternity is attributed to the great flamenco dancer Antonio El Bailarin, with whom the Duchess allegedly had a long and passionate relationship. Cayetana, naturally, denied everything, but before his death, Antonio wrote his autobiographical book, where he personally confirmed his paternity. It was not possible to verify this statement using a test, since all the materials were published after his death. Therefore, they hastened to simply hush up this unpleasant story.
Second marriage
Only 6 years passed after the death of her first husband, the Duchess of Alba met Jesus Aguirre, a former priest of the Jesuit Church, who was known as a brilliant intellectual, and fell in love with him. Aristocratic society was simply horrified, because it could not allow a man 11 years younger than his bride, and a socialist, to appear in their midst. The current situation was truly scandalous - out of two hundred invited to the official presentation of the newly created Duke Consort, not a single guest came.
But Cayetana was not very upset. She made every effort to get those around her to change their opinion about her husband, and she succeeded. In the end, even the children, who were extremely hostile, began to treat him as their own father. Very quickly, Aguirre managed to not only put all the previously neglected affairs of the Alba family in order, but also return to him the once lost financial well-being.
But that was not the main thing. Jesus managed to make his wife happy. He confessed his love to her day after day. Cayetana's happy marriage lasted 23 years until doctors discovered Aguirre had laryngeal cancer. The Duchess of Alba's second husband died in 2001. The shock of the loss was so strong that she lost the fingers on her right hand. As a result of this, I had to forget about my passion for drawing forever.
Third marriage
Everyone expected that the Duchess of Alba (her photo is in the article) would finally calm down and devote the rest of her life to communicating with her grandchildren. But instead she went to Ibiza and wore a sheer robe and some ankle bracelets as she lounged on the beach, challenging women much younger than her.
Over the course of two years, starting in 2007, she underwent three rather complex operations, which had a detrimental effect not only on her appearance, but also on her health in general - due to the illness, the duchess began to speak poorly and unintelligibly and constantly move her jaws. But everyone knew that she had an insatiable thirst for life, so few were surprised when Cayetana had another admirer.
Alfonso Diez was a simple official, and he was 24 years younger than his chosen one. He was not considered to be any outstanding personality, so the press began looking for “skeletons in the closet.” She soon discovered something intriguing about Diez's personal life. On one of the TV channels, his former lover Jose Luis Gomez gave an interview and talked about their homosexual relationships and that it would be ridiculous to expect Alfonso to show sincere feelings for elderly woman. In response to such accusations, Diez sued the journalists and won the case. He was paid 50 thousand euros for moral damage.
Dowryless
Ignoring the rumors, Cayetana decided to marry for the third time. Naturally, the children dissuaded her from such a rash step. They even wanted to declare her incompetent, but it never came to that, since the king himself stood up for her. According to protocol, Spanish grandees can only marry with permission from the monarch. Juan Carlos gave his consent, but only after the Duchess transferred all her titles and property to her children and grandchildren, and Alfonso Diez refused the inheritance.
The most titled aristocrat has died
The Duchess of Alba, whose biography was either happy or tragic, lived a long and interesting life. Her friends were Queen Elizabeth II and Jacqueline Kennedy. She published two books of memoirs, where she spoke in detail about her life and personal relationships.
Before her death, she was taken to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia and pneumonia. The 88-year-old woman could no longer survive the disease. The Duchess of Alba died on November 20, 2014.
It must be said that she was very loved in her homeland, in Seville, so she became the only Spaniard to whom a monument was erected during her lifetime. It is a full-length bronze statue. Its author is Sebastian Carlos Calero.
Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, whose biography reveals many interesting facts about his life and activities, was born in 1507. He was a famous Spanish general, as well as a popular statesman. Because of his cruelty, he received the nickname "Iron Duke".
Childhood and youth of the future bloody Duke
Fernando de Toleda was born on October 29, 1508 into one of the oldest and most respected noble families in Spain. His father died when Alvarez de Toledo was still young, and then his strict grandfather took care of his upbringing. He made every effort to raise the boy to be an ardent Catholic, a loyal servant of the king and a disciplined soldier. At the age of sixteen, the Duke of Alba already serves as an officer in the campaigns of Emperor Charles V against the French.
From 1531 Fernando played a leading role in operations against the Turks. Moreover, he was promoted to general two years later and distinguished himself during the siege of Tunisia in 1535. After defending Perpignan from a French attack in 1542, he was appointed by Charles the Fifth as military adviser to his successor Philip.
The most famous dates of the battles
The Duke of Alba commanded the cavalry which contributed greatly to the imperial victory at Mühlberg in 1547. And five years later, Fernando Alvarez took over overall command of the Spanish forces in Italy. However, the Duke is unable to prevent the defeat of the Imperial forces, which led to the Emperor's abdication in 1556.
Philip II, having become king of Spain, appointed Fernando de Toleda governor of Milan, as well as commander-in-chief of the military forces of Italy. There, the Duke of Alba wages war against the papal army of Paul the Fourth, who was a French ally, standing at the head of twelve thousand Spanish soldiers. While avoiding a direct attack on Rome, so that there would be no repeat of 1527.
The Pope's Cunning, or Fernando's Complete Victory
The Pope pretended to call for a truce, hoping that French troops would arrive at that time, but the Spaniards intercepted them and defeated them at the Battle of San Quentin. And without the support of the expected armies, the papal troops were defeated. Fernando Alvarez forced the Pope to accept peace in 1557, which ensured Spanish dominance in Italy for more than a hundred years.
In the same year, a truce was concluded between the monarchs of Spain and France in the city of Cateau Cambresis. While this treaty lasted, the Italian peninsula was in a long state of peace. And the next significant stage in the biography of the famous Fernando is the campaign of the Duke of Alba in 1567 and his further reign in the Netherlands, which left a deep mark on history due to cruel and bloody events.
The Bloody Deeds of the Famous Duke
In August 1566, the Iconoclastic Uprising took place in the Netherlands, during which a number of not only monasteries, but also churches, as well as Catholic statues, were looted or even destroyed. To resolve the civil and religious issues that arose, King Philip II sent Fernando at the head of a selected army to the Netherlands. There, the Duke of Alba, whose biography dwells in detail on this period, left the bloodiest memories of himself.
Fernando entered the territory of Brussels on August 22, 1567 and took over the post of governor general. And within a few days he founded the “Bloody Council” to suppress heresy and rebellion. This Council operates with stern rigor. Even the two most important and famous nobles of the country, the counts, heads of the Flemish nobility, Egmont and Horn, were arrested and put on trial. They were subsequently executed.
New tax system
Also, more than one thousand men of all ranks were executed, and many fled abroad for safety. All those convicted were executed on June 5, 1568 at Town Hall Square in Brussels. The Duke of Alba, who had a tough character, was not confident in Flemish justice. He perceived her as sympathy for the defendants. Therefore, Fernando Alvarez preferred execution in front of numerous witnesses.
Maintaining troops in Flanders entailed significant economic costs. And the bloody Duke of Alba decided to introduce the new kind taxation based primarily on the Spanish system of taxes of ten percent on each transfer of goods. Many provinces at the time had bought their way through lump sum payments, leading to deep concern that the prosperity of the Benelux countries was being undermined.
Refusal to pay taxes, or rebellion
Some residents refused to pay the "tithe", as the tax was called, and a riot began that quickly spread throughout the Netherlands. The Prince of Orange, nicknamed William the Quiet, turned to the Huguenots of France to provide the necessary support and began to support the rebels. He, together with troops from France, took many territories.
And the siege of Haarlem is characterized by brutal actions on both sides. It ended with the surrender of the city and the loss of about two thousand people. Thanks to long military campaigns and brutal repression of rebel citizens carried out by the Duke of Alba, the Netherlands secured the nickname "Iron Duke" for him.
His reputation was used for propaganda purposes among the rebels and to further influence anti-Spanish sentiment. Fernando remained popular among the Spanish troops, where he, without hesitating for a single minute, could always accurately guess the mood of the people.
Return to Spain, or the Last Years of Life
Despite ongoing hostilities, the situation in the Netherlands is not in favor of Spain. After numerous repressions that lasted for five years, about five thousand executions and constant complaints, Philip II decided to ease the situation by allowing Fernando de Toleda to return to Spain.
The Duke sailed from Holland, still torn by rebellion, on December 18, 1573. Upon returning to Spain, Fernando found himself out of favor with the king. However, seven years later, Philip II entrusted the conquest of Portugal to him.
Fernando Alvarez married his cousin Maria Enrique de Toledo in 1527. From this marriage he left four heirs: Garcia, Fadrique, Diego and Beatriz. There are also documentary information that his first child was illegitimate, born from a miller's daughter.
Duke of Alba, whose photo, of course, is little known to an ordinary person, but well known to any historian who studies the biographies of such outstanding personalities, died in Lisbon on December 11, 1582. Fernando's remains were transferred to Alba de Tormes and buried in the monastery of San Leonardo.
