Nobility in Spain and Europe

My question about the Duque de Alba opens up a much bigger subject: the present state of nobility in Spain and in Europe generally. William D. Phillips, Jr., Professor of History at the University of Minnesota, answers my question about the Duque de Alba:

"An easier source than thirty years of gossip magazines is the Elenco de grandezas y titulos nobiliarios espanoles (Madrid: Ediciones de la Revista Hidalguia, updated frequently, perhaps annually). It lists each title, when and how it was established, and the name and address of the current holder.The title of Duque de Alba de Tormes was a creation of Enrique IV of Castile (subject of my first book in 1978) in 1472. The current holder is the duchess María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz James Stuart y Silva. Usually called dońa Cayetana, and formerly called the red duchess. Born 1955. Her second husband was the recently deceased Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zárate. It was a morganatic marriage, and he was the consort.

The nobility in Spain is alive and kicking. There was a revival following the death of Franco. King Juan Carlos created some new titles, such as the Duque de Suárez for the former prime minister Adolfo Suárez, and gave or created others for his daughters and their husbands. For a time in the late seventies and the eighties, people petitioned (and what entity was petitioned, I don't know) to have disused titles recognized again. Hidalguia, and even the newspapers, had columns listing resumptions of titles."

My questions: Of course the King has created titles. He made the Basque athlete whom his daughter married Duque de Palma. He is a simple person, and rumor has it that the King was displeased. However, the title of Duque is not used on Spanish TV for people like Adolfo Suárez. As far as I know, noble titles have no place in the Spanish constitution. It would be interesting to compare the status of the nobility in monarchies like Belgium (where I suppose they ride bicycles!) and republics like Germany, France and Italy, where they have no constitutional standing. but still some snob value. This brings me back to my childhood when there was a complicated hierarchy of noble titles. There is indeed a tiny place called Alba de Tormes, 15 miles from Salamanca, where the palace of the dukes still stands, but the source says nothing about its condition. I still want to know why the death of Jesús was lamented by intellectuals and literary people and why the Alba family vault is not in Alba de Tormes.

Ronald Hilton - 5/22/01