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Monday, August 19, 2013

Aristocracy: The Duchess of Medinaceli (1917-2013)



Doña Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba y Fernández de Henestrosa, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli, passed away at home, Seville's historic Casa de Pilatos, yesterday, August 18.

Her funeral took place in the Medinaceli ducal crypt, Toledo, this afternoon.

She is survived by only one of her four children, don Ignacio Medina y Fernández de Córdoba, Duke of Segorbe, second husband of Princess Maria da Gloria d'Orléans-Braganza.

Her eldest daughter, the Countess of Ofalia, was once married to Prince Max of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, predeceased her mother. The new Duke of Medinaceli, 19th holder of Spain's most renowned duchy, will be Prince Marco of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, the late countess' eldest son.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_Eugenia_Fern%C3%A1ndez_de_C%C3%B3rdoba,_18th_Duchess_of_Medinaceli

http://www.vanitatis.com/noticias/2013-08-19/fallece-a-los-96-anos-la-duquesa-de-medinaceli-once-veces-grande-de-espana_18935/

3 comments:

  1. Her wiki article stated that she was the holder of the most Spanish titles. I thought that the Duchess of Alba held the most titles. Do you know who actually does hold the most titles in Spain?

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  2. This is debatable...both women held an amazingly numerous array of titles...but I do think that Medinaceli had more.

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  3. The Duchess should, perhaps, have earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most titled human being on earth, but instead the accolade went to her colourful cousin, Cayetana, Duchess of Alba — a woman known for her valiant efforts to hold back the depredations of time with cosmetic surgery. It is said that when the publicity-shy Duchess of Medinaceli discovered that she was to be listed in the popular reference work, alongside assorted freaks and daredevils, she petitioned the king to be allowed to pass on 17 of her titles to her sons.

    She felt that the Duchess of Alba, “with her English blood” (the Albas are directly descended from the Duke of Berwick, the illegitimate son of James II by Arabella Churchill, sister of the Duke of Marlborough), would enjoy the publicity.

    See this article for more info: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10262447/The-Duchess-of-Medinaceli.html

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