Cayetana, the Spanish Duchess Who Tidied Up All Her Titles In Her Own Way

Copyright 2014 by Janice Seto

The 18^th Duchess of Alba de Tormes died at age 88 at her favourite home, the serene Palacio de las Duenas, in Seville on November 20, 2014. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Cayetana FitzJames Stuart y Silva was the most titled aristocrat in the world, the heiress to titles of both her father, the 17^th Duke de Alba and her mother, the only child of the Dukes of Hijar. Certainly Cayetana was the most colourful aristocrat in Spain. As long as she was living evidence of Spain’s Downton Abbey past, Cayetana and her 6 children and grandchildren took up residence in celebrity magazines and websites. The 18^th Duchess de Alba was an Enneagram 4 unleashed, with the wealth to live her life and loves the way she wanted.

Away from public eye is sober side of Cayetana, as the custodian of House of Alba.  Schooled by her father’s example, Cayetana wanted her legacy to be a successful passing on of the Alba patrimony to the next generation.  The House of Alba was not about herself as an individual, it was about a lineage.

Much has been said about Duchess’s will and how she publicly disclosed who gets what in terms of property. More attention should be given to how she carefully planned the tidying up of that other legacy, her titles.

For the rest of this article, go to my blog http://www.janiceseto.com/blogs/ or Cayetana the Spanish Enneagram 4 Duchess