Duchess of Alba, Spain’s Richest Women, Dies At 88; Where Will Her Fortune Go?

The Duchess of Alba, Spain’s richest women and largest private landowner, has died at the age of 88. Though known throughout her native Spain as Cayetana de Alba, the Duchess’s name is more eccentric than that, her full name is 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, Silva, Falcó y Gurtubay. The long number of titles that come after it only rivals her long name, the Duchess of Alba possessed more titles than any other aristocrat. According to Guinness World Records she was the world's most titled person, being five times a duchess, 18 times a marchioness, 18 times a countess, 14 times a Spanish grandee and once a viscountess. "This is due to the complicated combinations of nationalities and marriages intertwined within her ancestry," Guinness World Records says. The Duchess, who headed one of Spain's oldest noble families, died at her home, Duenas Palace in Seville, Spain.

She was admitted to Seville’s Quiron Sagrado Corazon hospital with pneumonia on November 16 only to be taken home to be with her six children and 64-year-old husband Alfonso Díez. According to The Olive Press, a spokesperson for the duchess’ charitable foundation revealed that the 88 year old had been battling a lowered immune system for only days before ultimately succumbing to the pneumonia, “she had suffered a stomach virus a few days earlier but had recovered from it. Now she has pneumonia. At her age, one thing leads to another. She is weak. We are worried because we love her very much.” After her death, her coffin was taken to the city council building in Seville, where relatives, dignitaries and members of the public paid their respects. “What she really loved most was bullfighters and flamenco dancers, and the Spanish people loved her as a result,” said Tom Burns Maranon, a Madrid-based writer. “She was immensely popular.”

In her later years, her personal life and eccentric appearance made her a staple figure of Spanish gossip. She gained international attention in 2011 when at age 85, after surviving her first husbands, Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artázcoz and Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate, married a civil servant, Alfonso Díez who was 25 years her junior at the time of their nuptials. Despite incessant objections form 3 of her 6 children, Cayetana de Alba married Díez at the Palacio de las Duenas in Sevilla, even kicking off her shows and dancing flamenco at the reception. To end the family squabble and proceed with the 2011 wedding, Díez reportedly renounced any claim to the Duchess's unparalleled wealth; just before the wedding in 2011 she also divided up much of her estates among her five sons and daughter. However, according to the Daily Mail, she kept control over the assets, which is reputedly worth between million and $4.4 billion, until her death.

The House of Alba inheritance is not just made up of monetary wealth, but priceless works of art and other culturally significant items. Bloomberg reports that “the Alba inheritance includes a 1605 first edition of “Don Quixote” by Miguel de Cervantes; a sketch by Christopher Columbus of his boat, along with the roll of mariners that accompanied him on his first voyage; and the last will and testament of King Ferdinand the Catholic.” Further more, according to the Duchess’ autobiography, “What Life Has Taught Me,” the House of Alba owns paintings by El Greco, Goya and Rubens. In addition to the works of art the aristocratic family collected bulls and missives from almost every pope since the 15th century.