We are in the midst of the 21st century, but let's talk about Kings, palaces, Kingdoms and Duchesses. Let's talk of the Kingdom of Spain, an antiquated structure, incongruous with this day and age.
ABC newspaper featured the Duchess of Alba on the front page of the Sunday Nov. 11, 2012 edition, quoting Dame Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart as saying "What is happening in Catalonia is very unpatriotic" and opposing the claims to freedom for Catalonia.
Let us present this lady, whose full name is Maria del Rosario Cayetana Alfonsa Victoria Eugenia Fernanda Paloma Teresa Francisca de Paula Antonia Josefa Lourdes Fausta Santa Rita Beaver Dorothea Hope Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva y Hawk Gurtubay, within two contexts: historical and economic.
In the historical context, she has more titles of nobility than any other person in the world: she is a Duchess 5 times over, Marchioness 18 times over and a Grandee of Spain 14 times over. The latter title is one of an outdated Kingdom anchored in the 17th Century. She is a direct descendant of the Duke of Berwick, a sinister character in Catalonia known for having led the siege in 1714 that completed the military occupation of Catalonia. The Duke savagely quashed the Catalan population.
On the economic side, the Duchess is the most powerful landowner in the Kingdom of Spain, and indeed Europe. She has 34,000 hectares (84,016 acres) throughout Spain. This is more than the surface of the whole of the island of Lanzarote. According to calculations made by Help Catalonia, there are 100 countries in the world with less land surface than the properties of the Duchess of Alba.
Her possessions are often misused, having perpetuated grave situations for much of the population in Andalusia in southern Spain, who are forced to live in poverty. She has repeatedly been denounced by the SOC Agricultural Union of Andalusia. Furthermore, the House of Alba receives aid paid for by European citizens. She is the third largest recipient in Spain of European Union CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) aid.
She owns luxury palaces throughout the Kingdom, such as the Palace de Liria, the Palace of Monterrey, the Palace of Dueñas, and part of the island of Ibiza, including exclusive beach properties.
Her vast fortune is 3.2bn €, according to Forbes. She is the fifth richest person in the Kingdom. Her concern for Catalonia has been published just hours after the second suicide directly caused by evictions in Spain.
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