Spanish duchess of alba biography of alberta
The life and times of the 18th Duchess of Alba, who had more titles than Queen Elizabeth II
The 18th Duchess of Alba, María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, was born on 28 March 1926 at the vast Liria Palace, which has served as the Madrid residence of the Dukes of Albas for generations (most of the home was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War and was rebuilt by the Duchess’s father and the Duchess).
The Fitz-James Stuarts, the most powerful aristocratic dynasty in Spain, have always enjoyed a close relationship with the Spanish Royal Family. Queen Victoria Eugenie, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and consort of Spain’s King Alfonso XIII, was her godmother. The Duchess’s father, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, the 17th Duke of Alba, was an important member of King Alfonso’s court and served as Foreign Minister of Spain and Ambassador to the UK. He married Cayetana’s mother, Maria del Rosario de Silva, Marquesa de San Vicen Spanish duchess of alba wiki!