María del Carmen Franco y Polo | |
|---|---|
| Marchioness of Villaverde | |
.jpg) Pictured on her wedding day in 1950 | |
| Duchess of Franco | |
| Tenure | 26 November 1975 – 29 December 2017 |
| Successor | Carmen Martínez-Bordiú |
| Born | María del Carmen Franco y Polo (1926-09-14)14 September 1926 Oviedo,Asturias,Spain |
| Died | 29 December 2017(2017-12-29) (aged 91) Madrid, Spain |
| Spouse(s) | Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde (m. 1950–1998) |
| Issue | Carmen Martínez-Bordiú, 2nd Duchess of Franco María de la O Martínez-Bordiú Francisco Franco, 2nd Lord of Meirás María del Mar Martínez-Bordiu José Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú María de Aránzazu Martínez-Bordiú Jaime Felipe Martínez-Bordiú |
| Father | Francisco Franco |
| Mother | Carmen Polo, 1st Lady of Meirás |
María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco, Grandee of Spain, Marchioness of Villaverde (14 September 1926[1] – 29 December 2017) was the only child of Spain'scaudillo, GeneralFrancisco Franco[2] and his wife,Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés. InAsturian fashion, she was known by many nicknames, such as Nenuca, Carmelilla, Carmencita, Cotota and Morita.[3]
Franco was born inOviedo. It is rumoured that she was actually the daughter of Francisco Franco's younger brother,Ramón Franco and a prostitute who died shortly after giving birth.[4][5][6]
On 10 April 1950, inEl Pardo, she marriedCristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde.[7] Villaverde was a prominent surgeon. In 1968 he conducted the firstheart transplant operation inSpain. The couple had seven children:
Shortly after herfather's death in 1975,King Juan Carlos created herDuchess of Franco and agrandee of Spain, with acoat of arms of new creation. The arms are a variation of the arms of the deAndrade family ofGalicia, from whom she is twice descended from the Pardo de Andrade branch, and twice again from the 7th counts of Lemos and Sarria.[citation needed]
In 1978, she was arrested atMadrid Barajas International Airport for attempting to smuggle 300 millionpesetas (>US$4 million) worth of gold, jewellery and medals that had belonged to her father.[8] Her daughter divorced from her husband and moved to Paris, where she lived with the antiquarianJean-Marie Rossi, whom she married.
In 2008, she collaborated withStanley G. Payne and Jesús Palacios Tapias to writeFranco, My Father, a biography of her father from her point of view. She described her father as a warm person. With regards to theWhite Terror, she noted that "he did not talk about it at home".[9] According to the book Franco, referred to as "Generalísimo" or "Head of State", was an "intelligent and moderate", a "brave and Catholic" man and who established an "authoritarian but not totalitarian" regime.[10][11]
She chaired theFrancisco Franco National Foundation, which is under criticism for itsrevisionist opinions such as calling theSpanish coup of July 1936 an "armed referendum". The Spanish historianBorja de Riquer called that aeuphemism with reference to an era in which approximately 140,000 Spaniards were executed in a reign of terror by theFalange, theGuardia Civil and otherNationalist organisations.[12]
During the premiership ofJosé María Aznar the foundation received financial support from theSpanish Minister of Education and Culture. Funding was terminated in 2004.
She is regarded as an icon by the remaining followers ofFrancoism.[11]
She died fromcancer on 29 December 2017 in Madrid, aged 91,[13][14] and her ashes were buried next to her husband in the crypt ofAlmudena Cathedral.
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| Spanish nobility | ||
|---|---|---|
| New title | Duchess of Franco 1975–2017 | Succeeded by |
