The fate of the most noble woman in the world who renounced her fortune and heritage to marry

In her last years of life, the name of the most illustrious woman in the world at her time, Duchess Cayetana de Alba, did not leave the media. Many people openly mocked her: an 85-year-old woman marrying a man 24 years younger. But the irony of public opinion forgot that she was not just a lady of high society, a friend of Queen Elizabeth II, a great flamenco dancer, a woman who managed to restore one of the most beautiful palaces in Madrid and a passionate person who, like so many others, he renounced everything for his own happiness.

the team of awesome.club believes that the life story of this duchess should be made into a movie. As we don’t have that power, we decided to dedicate today’s post to her.

The Duchess of Alba, whose full name was María del Rosario Cayetana Paloma Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Fernanda Teresa Francisca de Paula Lourdes Antonia Josefa Fausta Rita Castor Dorotea Santa Esperanza Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva Falcó y Gurtubay (yes, all these names for a single person), was the only child of Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, XVII Duke of Alba and close friend of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII. Don Jacobo, the Duke, married at age 42 to Queen Victoria’s lady-in-waiting, María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, a 20-year-old woman. Six years after their marriage, in 1926, their only child, Cayetana, was born. The Duke always dreamed of having an heir, but his wife had tuberculosis after giving birth. To protect her daughter from infection, her mother decided to keep her distance. In 1934, the young Duchess passed away.

When Cayetana was just 10 years old, civil war broke out in Spain. The communists took over and destroyed the Liria palace in Madrid, which belonged to the Alba family, and Don Jacobo and his daughter had to quickly leave Spain. Shortly thereafter, General Franco came to power. He proposed to the Duke of Alba that he become the ambassador to Great Britain and Don Jacobo accepted the proposal.

Cayetana spent several years in London, including during World War II. The night bombings and the basement escapes were forever in his memory. But what really impacted her was the climate: she was very keen to return to her homeland, and she couldn’t imagine living in any country other than Spain. The loneliness of the little Spaniard was assuaged by a little princess, now known as Queen Elizabeth II. Their friendship lasted a lifetime.

Cayetana’s number of noble titles surpassed that of the queen, and it is this number that determines who bows to whom—that is, Elizabeth should revere Cayetana. However, as there is no title higher than that of the queen in royalty, this scene never took place. Furthermore, the Duchess of Alba was a monarchist and always showed reverence to people of royal blood.

At age 16, Cayetana fell in love for the first time. During one of her trips to Spain, she met the bullfighter Pepe Luis Vázquez, for whom she completely lost her mind. He was going to ask for her hand in marriage and wait for her to turn 18, but her father found out and sent her right back to London.

Cayetana was not a traditionally beautiful woman, but she had some aspects that made her stand out: voluminous lips, lush hair and a very slim waist. In addition, she had a very special charisma that made men crazy about her. The chosen one was Luis Martínez de Irujo, an engineer from Spanish high society. Cayetana’s father accepted her choice because, in addition to being a noble, he was a monarchist.

The marriage was not like the arranged unions that take place in noble families. Cayetana and Luis were in love and happy. The Duke of Alba spent, at the time, more than 300 thousand dollars on the wedding (approximately 12 million reais nowadays). The year was 1947 and Spain and Europe as a whole were going through difficult times. A month later, the Queen of England was married and the party was much more modest than Alba’s. The couple had 5 sons and a daughter. Furthermore, the Duchess suffered 5 miscarriages.

Despite her status as a wife and mother, Cayetana did not lose strength. She became interested in flamenco and learned to dance very well. Her favorite hobby ended up causing a big rumor about her. People began to say that her fourth child, Fernando, was the result of a relationship with Antonio el Bailarín, a flamenco dancer. However, the Duchess has always denied this information. Luis, in turn, always supported his wife’s love for dance and never gave much importance to what they said.

When Pablo Picasso wanted to do a portrait of her without clothes, just like Goya did of his great-great-grandmother, Cayetana’s husband intervened and said ‘no’. The Duchess of Alba regretted it for the rest of her life.

Cayetana was married to Luis for 26 years. He died of leukemia, a diagnosis the Duchess did not tell her husband until the end of her life.

In 1978, the Duchess, then 52, remarried. The chosen one was Jesús Aguirre, 41, a former priest who abandoned the church for his socialist ideas. High society did not accept Cayetana’s new relationship, but the young King Juan Carlos did not want to take away the title of the most illustrious woman in Spain and authorized the marriage. They lived together for 23 years, until he too died of cancer.

The Duchess had depression and had many plastic surgeries, but they didn’t go very well. In an attempt to escape old age, she began to wear increasingly extravagant accessories. Even her children began to criticize her behavior, but the Spanish people seemed to like her more and more. Cayetana received the title of ‘Favourite Daughter of Andalusia’ for her contribution to the development of Seville and its culture. Even in her 70s, the Duchess continued to dance flamenco.

The Duchess had met Alfonso Díez, a man 23 years her junior, 30 years earlier. He was the one who helped her face depression. This time, high society did not support the noble woman’s marriage. Her children said in no uncertain terms that Alfonso was only interested in her fortune and her works of art.

Television programs began to attack Alfonso’s honor and ridicule the Duchess. The King of Spain did not want to allow the marriage, but he could not prevent the decision of a woman as noble as she. The marriage was authorized on the condition that the Duchess’s house was in the hands of her direct heirs.

In 2011, Cayetana handed over to her children her entire fortune, estimated at 3.5 billion euros, and married Alfonso. At the wedding, the 85-year-old bride danced flamenco. Her husband quickly demonstrated that he didn’t need her money and convinced her to have an operation so she wouldn’t have to be in a wheelchair anymore.

A short time later, she walked out of the hospital and was caught in a bikini in Ibiza by the paparazzi. At this stage, the Duchess drew a lot of attention from the press for her clothes, including a burgundy dress that left her legs out and a lace miniskirt. The duchess admitted that she still felt very young and didn’t mind anyone’s comment.

But the happiness of the last marriage lasted only three years. In 2014, Cayetana was admitted to a hospital for pneumonia and acute gastroenteritis. She knew her condition was serious and on November 20, 2014 the most noble woman in the world was gone forever, leaving behind a story full of twists that will never be forgotten.

Did you already know the story of the Duchess of Alba? Would he be able to give up anything for love? Share your opinion in the comments.