- Luisa Isabel Alvarez de Toledo, 21st Duchess of Medina Sidonia
Doña Luisa Isabel Alvarez de Toledo y Maura, 21st Duchess of Medina-Sidonia (baptized Luisa Isabel María del Carmen Cristina Rosalía Joaquina) (August 21 ,1936 -March 7 ,2008 ), was the holder of the ducal titleMedina-Sidonia inSpain . Known as the "Red Duchess".She was the 21st
Duchess of the ducal family of Medina-Sidonia, one of the most prestigious noble families andGrandee s of Spain. She was also the 15th Duchess of Fernandina andPrincess of Montalbán, 17thMarchioness of Villafranca del Bierzo, 18th Marchioness of los Vélez, 25th Countess of Niebla, and three times a Grandee of Spain.Life and Family
Luisa Isabel was born in
Estoril ,Portugal , the only child and daughter of Joaquín Alvarez de Toledo y Caro, the 20th Duke of Medina-Sidonia, and of María del Carmen Maura y Herrera, daughter of Gabriel Maura y Gamazo, the 1st Duke of Maura, and wife Cuban Julia de Herrera y Herrera, 5th Countess of la Mortera. Her great-grandfather wasAntonio Maura , who had beenPrime Minister of Spain. Her third cousin isactress Carmen Maura .On
16 July 1955 , in Mortera, Cantabria, she married José Leoncio González de Gregorio y Martí (29 October 1930 inMadrid –23 February 2008 ), son of Leoncio González de Gregorio y Arribas, Martínez de Azagra y Turull, and wife Leticia Martí y Rodríguez de Castro, with whom she had three children.Her first son, Leoncio Alonso González de Gregorio y Alvarez de Toledo, was born on
3 January 1956 , and was the hereditary Duke of Niebla until the death of his mother. He married María Montserrat Viñamata y Marotell (born15 January 1962 , Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain), the daughter of the 23rd Countess of Alba de Liste, on12 December 1983 , and has two children.Her daughter, María del Pilar Leticia González de Gregorio y Alvarez de Toledo, was born on
10 January 1957 and is the 16th Duchess of Fernandina. Her first marriage was to Rafael Márquez y Osorio (born4 January 1949 ,Madrid ,Spain ), 7th Count of the Torres de Alcorin, on16 September 1977 , and has two children with him. Her second marriage is to Tomás de Terry y Merello (born30 August 1936 , Puerto de Santa María, Cádiz, España) on25 June 1990 . She has two more children by this marriage.The third child of Luisa Isabel is Gabriel Ernesto González de Gregorio y Alvarez de Toledo, born in 1958.
On her deathbed,
March 7 ,2008 , Luisa Isabel married Liliana Maria Dahlmann in a civil ceremony. [Keeley, Graham. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/16/wduchess116.xml "Red Duchess wed lesbian lover to snub children"] , "The Daily Telegraph ",2008-03-16 . Retrieved on2008-03-16 .]Profile
Luisa Isabel Alvarez de Toledo was the head of the House of Medina-Sidonia, the most important ducal house of Spain, with its status as a hereditary title having been granted in 1445. The principal residence of the dukes was the Palace of Medina-Sidonia, located in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz. This Palace houses one of the most important private archives in Europe.
An atypical and controversial aristocrat, she was an historian, the guardian of the ducal archives and the author of numerous works. At the age of 18, she was presented to society in Estoril, Portugal, along with the Infanta Pilar de Borbón. Yet, despite her noble heritage and upbringing, she held strong Republican ideals throughout her life.
Her anti-Francoist activities brought about her encarceration in the prison of Alcalá de Henares when she was in her 60's. It was from this time that she became popularly known as the "Red Duchess." Until her death, she was an active member of the foundation that manages the major part of the patrimony of the House of Medina-Sidonia, and she continued her work as an historian and author.
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