The King presided this Thursday, in the El Pardo palace, for the first time since the beginning of his reign, the annual assembly of the Deputation of Grandeur and Titles of the Kingdom, which was attended by more than five hundred aristocrats, including almost a thousand, who belong to the institution founded in 1815. At the meeting, Felipe VI, who since his proclamation has not yet granted any noble title, asked the nobles for “obligation and exemplarity” after remembering that “privilege must be understood as a service to society.”
Currently, in Spain there are 2,672 noble titles still in force, some several centuries old, such as the duchies of Alba, Medinaceli, Osuna or Medina Sidonia, and others recent, such as the marquisates of Fuster and Grisolía, granted by King Juan Carlos, in 2014, to the scientists Valentín Fuster and Santiago Grisolía.
The event was attended by, among others, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, Duke of Alba, accompanied by his sons Fernando and Carlos, Dukes of Huéscar and Osorno, respectively, and his sister Eugenia Martínez-Irujo, Duchess of Montoro; Esther Koplowitz and her daughter Esther Alcocer, marchionesses of Cárdenas and Peñalver, have also been in the call; Deputy Cayetana Alvárez de Toledo, Marchioness of Casa Fuerte, Xandra Falco, Marchioness of Mirabel and Catalina Luca de Tena, Marchioness of Valle del Tena
The granting of titles is a power of the Crown, although Felipe VI has not made use of that right since its proclamation, which will be ten years ago on June 19. In recent years, the King has regularly received the members of the council of the Diputación de la Grandeza, the last time almost a year ago, after the Government struck down the 33 noble titles linked to the Franco regime. The application of the Historical Memory Law, which came into force on October 22, 2022, forced the annulment of the titles that represented an exaltation of Francoism. The majority were granted by Franco, who granted himself the power of the Crown, and five were granted by King Juan Carlos, at the beginning of his reign, in which Carmen Polo and Carmen Franco, daughter and widow of the dictator; to the President of the Government, Carlos Arias Navarro and to the President of the Cortes, Alejandro Rodríguez de Valcárcel. The people who held the titles, including Carmen Martínez-Bordiu, who inherited the title of duchess from Franco, can no longer use the distinction.
King Juan Carlos did not receive the members of the Diputación de la Grandeza until 1991, more than fifteen years after the reestablishment of the monarchy, in 1975. In the 38 years of his reign, Juan Carlos I granted 54 titles recognizing the merits of artists , scientists, politicians and businessmen including Salvador Dalí, Josep Tarradellas, Juan Antonio Samaranch, José Manuel Lara, Mario Vargas Llosa and Vicente del Bosque.
Since its foundation in 1815, the functions and powers of the Diputación de la Grandeza have evolved and is currently an advisory body to the Ministry of Justice in everything related to the succession of noble titles.
Currently, a total of 2,672 noble titles held by 2,199 people are recognized in Spain. The Deputation of Greatness brings together some eight hundred people who hold as many titles of nobility, some several centuries old. The permanent council of the Deputation of Grandeur is made up of a dean – a position that must always fall to a Grandee of Spain – and sixteen councilors – eight Grandees of Spain and eight Titles of the Kingdom. Since 2022, María Cristina de Ulloa y Solís-Beaumont, Duchess of Arcos, has held the position of dean, who, like her immediate predecessors, is committed to disassociating the image of the aristocracy from that of nineteenth-century clichés to highlight the commitment of people with title to the Crown and with the principles of honor and dignity.
