María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, 18th Duchess of Alba GE (28 March 1926 – 20 November 2014) was one of the most senior aristocrats in Spain, as well as the most titled aristocrat in the world, a record now held by Princess Victoria of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, 20th Duchess of Medinaceli.
Born in Liria Palace in Madrid on 28 March 1926, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was the only child of the 17th Duke of Alba (a prominent Spanish politician and diplomat during the 1930s and 1940s) and his wife, María del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay, 9th Marchioness of San Vicente del Barco.
She was the eighth great-granddaughter of James II and VII.
Her godparents were Queen Victoria Eugenie and King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
As a socialite, the Duchess met famous VIPs from Spain and abroad.
Jackie Kennedy visited her Seville palace, as did Wallis Simpson, Princess Grace and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and King Constantine II of Greece.
1947
On 12 October 1947, the Duchess married Don Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz (1919–1972), younger son of the Duke of Sotomayor and his wife Ana María de Artázcoz y Labayen (1892–1930), court lady of Queen Victoria Eugenia of Spain.
The wedding in Spain, two years after the end of World War II, resisted the decline in frequency of very extravagant European weddings among high nobility and attracted the attention of the international media.
The New York Times called it "the most expensive wedding of the world."
1959
In 1959, the Duchess, together with designer Yves Saint Laurent, hosted a Dior show for charitable purposes in her Liria Palace, Madrid, a palace which movie stars Charlton Heston, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Raf Vallone visited.
In her youth the Duchess posed for Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton and she appeared on the cover of Time and Harper's Bazaar.
1970
The wedding caused shock; Aguirre was illegitimate, which carried a stigma among the wealthy and devout in 1970s Spain.
Eight years younger than the Duchess, he maintained a good relationship with her children.
During their marriage he administered, with his stepson Carlos, the Alba estates.
1978
Widowed in 1972, the Duchess remarried first on 16 March 1978 Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate (1934–2001), a Doctor of Theology and a former Jesuit priest.
2000
The re-widowed Duchess expressed her wish to marry Alfonso Díez Carabantes in the 2000s, a civil servant who separately had a public relations business, 24 years her junior.
It was reported objections came from her children and from King Juan Carlos.
2001
Aguirre died in 2001.
2008
The House of Alba in 2008 issued a statement saying that the relationship "was based on a long friendship and there are no plans to marry".
The duchess decided to proceed and gave her children their inheritance which included majestic palaces in Spain, paintings by old and modern masters (from Fra Angelico, Titian and Goya to Renoir and Marc Chagall), a first-edition copy of Cervantes's Don Quixote, letters written by Christopher Columbus, and substantial land; her wealth was estimated at between €600 million and €3.5 billion.
Díez formally renounced any claim to her wealth.
2011
She was inducted into Vanity Fair's International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 2011.
They married on 5 October 2011 at the Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, where the Duchess, whose passions included flamenco, performed a short dance for the spectators.
2014
The Duchess died in the Palacio de las Dueñas on 20 November 2014, at the age of 88.
She was succeeded by her son Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, who thus became the 19th Duke of Alba.
At the time of her death, her net worth was estimated to be $5 billion.
The Duchess' body was laid in repose at the Town Hall, where thousands of civilians paid their last respects.
Pictures of the Duchess with her family were placed at her coffin.
The King of Spain telephoned her son to pay his respects and sent two flower crowns to Seville.
The Lord Mayor said that the flags of the city would be lowered in mourning.
Juan José Asenjo and Curro Romero, and Mariano Rajoy, Spain's prime minister, also formally paid their respects.
Her funeral was held at Seville Cathedral by Carlos Amigo Vallejo, where the Royal Family was represented by the Infanta Elena.
As head of the dynasty, Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart was styled by her most senior title of "Duchess of Alba", while having held over 50 other hereditary titles during her lifetime.
She was 14 times a Grandee of Spain.
According to Guinness World Records, she was the most titled aristocrat in the world.
2015
It was reported that 20 million pesetas (equivalent to $10,000,000 rounded in 2015) was spent.
