The Duchess of Alba

When I was learning French I was advised to read Tintin in the original because it was grammatically correct compared to Asterix, which used too many colloquial terms. The pictures helped me make sense of unfamiliar words.

When I was learning Spanish I read Rizal’s “Noli” and “Fili” because I knew the story twice over, first in Filipino from high school and then in English from college, so reading it a third time in the original came easily. However, I was told that the fastest and easiest way to build a Spanish vocabulary was to read the weekly gossip magazine Hola, which had the Filipino beauty Isabel Preysler on its cover and inside pages more often than the Spanish queen, Dona Sofia. We now have a Philippine edition of Hola, and I don’t know how it holds up to the Tatler, Lifestyle Asia, or Town and Country because my dentist and barber don’t have it in their waiting rooms.

I’m sure the Spanish edition of Hola would devote many pages to the life, death and funeral of the 18th Duchess of Alba, who passed away last Nov. 20 at the age of 88 and is survived by her third husband and half a dozen children. I learned of her passing on the Facebook page of the librarian of Instituto Cervantes Tokyo, who once served as librarian in Instituto Cervantes Manila. It provided what appeared to be a list of the Duchess’ titles:

“Dona MarÌa del Rosario Cayetana Paloma Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Fernanda Teresa Francisca de Paula Lourdes Antonia Josefa Fausta Rita Castor Dorotea Santa Esperanza Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva Falco y Gurtubay, XVIII duquesa de Alba de Tormes, XI duquesa de Berwick, XI duquesa de Liria y JÈrica, XIII duquesa de Almazan, XIV condesa-duquesa de Olivares, XVI marquesa de El Carpio, XXII condesa de Lemos, XIX condesa de LerÌn-condestablesa de Navarra y de …ibar, XX condesa de Miranda del Castanar, XVI condesa de Monterrey, XX condesa de Osorno (Estos con Grandeza de Espana); XII marquesa de La Algaba, XXI marquesa de Barcarrota, XIII marquesa de Castaneda, XIX marquesa de Coria, VII marquesa de Eliche, XVIII marquesa de Mirallo, XX marquesa de la Mota, XX marquesa de Moya, XI marquesa de Osera, XVI marquesa de San Leonardo, XIX marquesa de Sarria, XII marquesa de Tarazona, XVII marquesa de Valdunquillo, XXI marquesa de Villanueva del Fresno, XVI marquesa de Villanueva del RÌo, XX condesa de Villalba, XXV condesa de San Esteban de Gormaz, X condesa de Santa Cruz de la Sierra, XVIII condesa de Andrade, XV condesa de Ayala, XIV condesa de Casarrubios del Monte, XIV condesa de Fuentes de Valdepero, X condesa de Fuentiduena, XVI condesa de Galve,XVII condesa de Gelves, XXI condesa de Mudica, X vizcondesa de la Calzada; Miembro de Merito de la Real Academia Hispanoamericana de Artes, Ciencias y Letras de Cadiz, Miembro de la Hispanic Society of America, de Nueva York, Presidenta de Honor del Aula Taurina del Ilustre Colegio Oficial de EnfermerÌa de Sevilla, Presidenta de Honor de la Asociacion de Amigos de la ”pera, Presidenta de Honor del Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro de Sevilla, Alcaldesa Honoraria de Liria, Vicepresidenta de Honor del Club Palomar de Santander, Presidenta de Honor de la Asociacion Sevillana de Esclerosis maltiple, Presidenta de honor de la Comision Ejecutiva Nacional de la Asociacion Espanola de Esclerosis Maltiple, Presidenta de Honor de la ”pera Filarmonica, Hija Adoptiva de Sevilla, Hija Predilecta de AndalucÌa, Presidenta nacional del Centro Regional de Transfusion de Sangre de la Cruz Roja Espanola y Vocal de la Asamblea Suprema de la misma, Vicepresidenta segunda del Patronato de Honor de la Escuela de Capataces Forestales, Miembro del Consejo de la Diputacion Permanente y Consejo de la Grandeza de Espana, Academica Numeraria de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de Santa Isabel de HungrÌa de Sevilla, Academica Correspondiente en Sevilla de la Real Academia Provincial de Bellas Artes de C·diz, Mayordoma Mayor de Honor de Santa MarÌa de los ¡ngeles de Granada; Medalla de Oro de la Ciudad de Madrid, Medalla de Oro al Merito en las Bellas Artes, Orden Civil de la Beneficencia, con categorÌa de Gran Cruz y distintivo blanco, Gran Cruz de la Orden de Beneficencia (Reino de Grecia), Gran Cruz de la Real Orden Isabel la Catolica, Gran Placa de Honor y Merito de la Cruz Roja Espanola, Gran Cruz de la Orden Civil de Alfonso X El Sabio, Banda de la Orden Civil del Merito AgrÌcola, Medalla de Honor de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando 1982, Dama Gran Cruz de Justicia de la Sagrada Orden Militar Constantiniana de San Jorge, Medalla de Oro de La LÌnea de la Concepcion, Medalla de Oro de la Cruz Roja Espanola, Lady Espana 1987, Butaca de Plata 2006 y Premio Mandarina de la pena periodistica Primera Plana 2010.”

That list can serve as an obituary; the Duchess of Alba was, after all, the most titled noble in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. By order of precedence she outranked the Queen of England, and her titles gave her some personal privileges like not having to stand or remove her hat when in the presence of the Spanish King, or not having to bow or curtsey to the Pope. Most important of all, she was the lost Queen of Scotland.

Most people, however, associate the Duchess of Alba with two paintings by Goya that now hang in the Prado: the Maja Desnuda and the Maja Vestida that supposedly depict the 13th Duchess of Alba clothed and nude—but that is another story altogether.

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