Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco
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| María del Carmen Franco y Polo | |
.svg) Coat of Arms for the Duchy of Franco
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| Born | February 14, 1926 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain |
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| Spouse(s) | (1950-1998) Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis de Villaverde |
| Children | María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco Francisco Franco Martinez-Bordiu, Señor de Meirás and 11th Marquis de Villaverde María de la O (Mariola) Martinez-Bordiu María del Mar (Merry) Martinez-Bordiu José Cristóbal Martinez-Bordiu María de Aránzazu (Arantxa) Martinez-Bordiu Jaime Martinez-Bordiu |
| Parents | General Francisco Franco (1892-1975) Carmen Polo y Martínez Valdés (1900-1988) |
María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco Grandee of Spain, Dowager Marchioness of Villaverde (b. 14 February 1926 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain) is the only child of Spain's Caudillo, leader, General Francisco Franco and his wife Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès. In Asturian fashion, she is known by many cryptic nicknames, namely Nenuca, Carmencita and Morita.
[edit] Family life
On 10 April 1950, in El Pardo, she married Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquess of Villaverde (1 August 1922 Jaén, Mancha Real - 4 February 1998 Madrid). Villaverde was a prominent surgeon. In 1968 he was responsible for the first heart transplant ever made in Spain (the patient was another son of José María Martínez y Ortega and his wife Esperanza Bordiú y Bascarán, 7th Countess of Argillo). Carmen had several children by this marriage:
- María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. El Pardo, 26 February 1951), who married Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, son of Infante Jaime of Spain, Duke of Segovia and grandson of King Alfonso XIII of Spain. She is well-known as la nietisima[citation needed].
- María la O (Mariola) Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. El Pardo, 19 November 1952), married in El Pardo on 14 March 1974 Rafael Ardid y Villoslada (b. 1 February 1947), and had issue:
- Francisco de Borja Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b. Madrid, 20 December 1975), married in Ciudad Real on 23 July 2005 Maria Ruíz y Vega
- Jaime Rafael Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b. Madrid, 28 September 1976)
- Francisco Javier Ardid y Martínez-Bordiú (b. Madrid, 7 April 1987)
- Francisco Franco y Martínez-Bordiú, 11th Marquess of Villaverde (b. 9 December 1954)
- María del Mar Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. 6 July 1956), married firstly at the Pazo de Meirás on 3 August 1977 and divorced in 1982 Joaquín Giménez-Arnau y Puente (b. 14 September 1943), and had issue, and married secondly in New York City, New York, on 4 August 1986 and divorced in 1991 Gregor Tamler, without issue:
- Laeticia Giménez-Arnau y Martínez-Bordiú (b. 25 January 1979), married on 8 August 2008 Marcos Sagrera y Palomo
- José Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. El Pardo, 10 February 1958), married civilly in New York City, New York, on 23 November 1984 and religiously in Madrid on 27 October 1990 Model Josefina Victoria Toledo y López (b. San José de Tirajana, Canary Islands, 1963), and had issue:
- María Aránzazu (b. 16 September 1962), married at the Pazo de Meirás on 27 July 1996 Claudio Quiraga y Ferro, without issue
- Jaime Martínez-Bordiú y Franco (b. 8 July 1964), married in Madrid on 24 November 1995 Nuria March y Almela (b. July 1966), and had issue:
- Jaime Martínez-Bordiú y March (b. Madrid, 13 November 1999)
Right after her father died in 1975, King Juan Carlos of Spain created her Duchess of Franco and a Grandeza de España in her own right, with the honorific of Doña and a Coat of Arms of new creation. These Arms are a variation of the Arms of the de Andrade Family of Galicia, of whom Franco descended twice from the Pardo de Andrade branch and twice again from the 7th Counts of Lemos and Sárria. He also wrote Raza under the pseudonym of Jaime de Andrade.
[edit] External links
- Ducal House of Franco
- Universal Studios Newsreel for 8th April, 1957: "18th anniversary of end of Spanish revolution in Spain, Franco and daughter watch soldiers, the caudillo looks on with pride, 18 years of peace and rebuilding".
