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Duke of Fernandina

Duke of Fernandina is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain. It was granted by King Philip II to García Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio, Viceroy of Sicily and Catalonia, and later Marquis of Villafranca del Bierzo in inheritance from his elder brother. It was conferred on him the 24 December 1559, along with the principality of Montalbán. Fernandina is the only dukedom in Spain that is not attached to a Grandeeship. Its name makes reference to the town of Ferrandina in southern Italy.

The title was usually held by the heirs apparent of the marquises of Villafranca, and merged into the House of Medina Sidonia in 1779 when José Álvarez de Toledo, 11th Marquis of Villafranca and 8th Duke of Fernandina, inherited the dukedom of Medina Sidonia from a distant cousin. After the death of the 12th duke, José Joaquín Álvarez de Toledo, none of his sons claimed the title, so the dukedom of Fernandina became dormant. Eighty years later, the 21st duchess of Medina Sidonia and her son the Count of Niebla ceded their rights to the title to their daughter and sister, Pilar González de Gregorio, who asked for the resumption of the dormant dukedom. On 1 February 1993, the title was restored without grandeeship of Spain by King Juan Carlos I to Pilar, who became the 13th Duchess of Fernandina.

Dukes of Fernandina (1559)

Dukes of Fernandina (1993)

The title became extinct in 2012, following a legal battle of the last duchess with her nephew, Alonso González de Gregorio. However, it was rehabilitated in 2020 in favor of Alonso González de Gregorio.

  • Alonso-Enrique González de Gregorio y Viñamata, 14th Duke of Fernandina (b. 1983), nephew of the 13th Duchess.

Family tree

See also

Notes

References

  • Elenco de Grandezas y Títulos Nobiliarios Españoles, Hidalguía Editions, 2008
  • González de Gregorio Álvarez de Toledo, Pilar, Ducado de Fernandina in Carlas as Director, ABC, 23 February 2001.