It’s a sad day in Spain, as they country says goodbye to the 18th Duchess of Alba, Cayetana.
On Sunday she was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, and whilst it looked like she was on the road to recovery, her health took a turn for the worst and she passed away on Wednesday.
María del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Francisca Fitz-James-Stuart y de Silva leaves her insanely huge fortune to her six children and eight grand children, and nothing to her her dear husband.
Each child is set to receive a palace, as well as money and artifacts. With an estimated fortune of £2.2billion, They’re hardly going to be hard done by. She also had 50,000 pieces of artwork and 18,000 rare books, so I am sure some galleries will benefit.
Let’s have a little bit of background to this amazing woman, shall we?
When she turned 85, she announced plans to marry Alfonso Díez, a civil servant 25 years her junior. Her family thought he was a gold-digger, and he then willingly signed away any rights to inherit anything from the Duchess, which is why he isn’t going to get much (ooh, I hope she has a secret will for him somewhere!).
She once declined to be a muse for Pablo Picasso because her husband at the time said no.
She was 14 times a Spanish grandee, five times a duchess, once a countess-duchess, 18 times a marchioness, 18 times a countess and once a viscountess.
The Duchess owned so many properties that she was “known for being able to crisscross the country without having to spend the night in a property that was not hers”.
Back in the day, she would host the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy when they visited Spain
And, she could bull-fight.
That is a LOT of things to put on a CV.
May she rest in peace and spend her days lazing on beaches made of golden clouds.
Check out The Daily Mail and The Guardian
