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Spain's richest duchess dies aged 88 | Spain's richest duchess dies aged 88 |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Duchess of Alba, Spain's richest woman and one its most eccentric figures, has died aged 88 in Seville. | The Duchess of Alba, Spain's richest woman and one its most eccentric figures, has died aged 88 in Seville. |
Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart had more titles than any other aristocrat and owned palaces and an extensive property portfolio as well as paintings by Goya and Velazquez. | Maria del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart had more titles than any other aristocrat and owned palaces and an extensive property portfolio as well as paintings by Goya and Velazquez. |
She died at home on Thursday after a short illness. | She died at home on Thursday after a short illness. |
The duchess is survived by her husband of three years, Alfonso Diez, who is 24 years her junior. | The duchess is survived by her husband of three years, Alfonso Diez, who is 24 years her junior. |
The Duchess of Alba was the head of one of Spain's oldest noble families. | |
She was the world's most titled person, according to Guinness World Records. She was five times a duchess, 18 times a marchioness, 18 times a countess, 14 times a Spanish grandee and once a viscountess. | |
The duchess was a regular in Spanish gossip magazines and was famous for hosting Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy on their visits to Spain. | |
In 1959, she turned her palace in Madrid over to French designer Yves Saint Laurent for a Dior fashion show. | |
One of the more memorable images from her latter years came when she flung off her shoes to perform an impromptu flamenco dance before a crowd of photographers and guests at her third wedding in 2011. | |
"Together we have a wonderful time," her husband Alfonso Diez said in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine. | |
"It often seems that I'm the older of the two," he said. | |
Her wealth, estimated at between €600m (£380; $753m) and €3.5bn, is expected to be shared among her six children. |