Duke of Franco
| Dukedom of Franco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creation date | 1975 |
| Created by | Juan Carlos I |
| Peerage | Peerage of Spain |
| First holder | María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco |
| Present holder | María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, 2nd Duchess of Franco |
Duke of Franco (Spanish: Duque de Franco) is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility. The title was created in 1975 by King Juan Carlos and bestowed upon Carmen Franco, the daughter and only child of Spain's Caudillo, General Francisco Franco. Together with the dukedom, she received a coat of arms of new creation. These arms are a variation of the arms of Andrade family of Galicia, from whom Franco was descended through females.
In 1950, Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco, had married Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquess of Villaverde, by whom she had several children. Dukes and duchesses of Franco are also Grandees of Spain. After the death of the 1st Duchess of Franco, succession of the ducal title with accompanying dignity has been requested by her eldest daughter María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco.[1] Under Spanish nobiliary law, her eldest daughter Maria is first in line, but does not succeed automatically; with the application to the Crown and the issue of the Royal Letter of Succession, and after an announcement period of thirty days, succession only legally enters into force after a tax is paid.
In 2018, the far-left Izquierda Unida party sent a letter to King Felipe VI asking that title of Duke or Duchess of Franco be repressed as a violation of Spain's Historical Memory Law but the power to make or unmake nobility resides solely in the Spanish monarch and is not covered by that law.[2] The Dukedom was granted to the heir apparent, María del Carmen Martínez-Bordíu y Franco, the eldest daughter of the late Duchess, on the same year, as published in the Official State Gazette on 4 July 2018.[3]
List of dukes of Franco
- María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco (1926–2017)
- María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco, 2nd Duchess of Franco (born 1951)
References
- ^ Boletín Oficial del Estado: no. 74, p. 25370, 26 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-30 (in Spanish)
- ^ "Felipe VI no puede suprimir el Ducado de Franco sin un proceso previo del Consejo de Estado". Monarquia Confidencial. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
- ^ "Título de Duque de Franco" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
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