Doña Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y Borbón Don Juan Gómez-Acebo y Borbón, 3rd Viscount of La Torre Don Bruno Gómez-Acebo y Borbón Don Luis Gómez-Acebo y Borbón Don Fernando Gómez-Acebo y Borbón
Names
María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón
Infanta Pilar was the firstborn daughter ofJuan de Borbón y Battenberg andMaría de las Mercedes de Borbón y Orleans,Counts of Barcelona, she was born in Ville Saint Blaise, home of the counts of Barcelona inCannes (Alpes-Maritimes, France), on 30 July 1936.[3] She was baptized in Cannes, in the church of Rins, with the name ofMaría del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón. Her godparents were her paternal grandfather,King Alfonso XIII and her maternal grandmother thePrincess Louise of Orléans, although Alfonso XIII acted by delegation as he did not want to meet his wifeQueen Victoria Eugenia. From her birth, as the daughter of the heir to the Crown of Spain she was given the title ofInfanta of Spain with treatment of Royal Highness. However, the official recognition of that title came when her brother was already King of Spain.[4]
When she was an infant, the family moved toRome where theSpanish Royal Family settled in exile. In 1941, after the resignation of Alfonso XIII, her father became the holder of the dynastic rights of the Spanish Crown in exile.[5] DuringWorld War II she lived atLausanne inSwitzerland, where her grandmother, Queen Victoria Eugenia, lived. In 1946 the family resettled atEstoril in Portugal.[6]
Together with her parents and her brother Juan Carlos, she took part in the ship tour organized byQueen Frederica and her husband KingPaul of Greece in 1954, which became known as the “Cruise of the Kings” and was attended by over 100 royals from all over Europe. On this trip, Juan Carlos met the hosts' 15-year-old daughter,Sofia, his future wife, for the first time.[7]
Pilar needed to renounce her rights of succession to the Spanish throne to marry a commoner as stipulated by the Pragmatic Sanction ofCharles III on marriages of members of the royal family.[11]
Doña María de Fátima Simoneta Luisa Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 31 October 1968) she married José Miguel Fernández-Sastrón (b. 1959) on 12 September 1990. They divorced on 16 October 2012.[15]
Juan Fernández-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 23 September 1991)
Pablo Fernandez-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 4 May 1995)
María de las Mercedes Fernández-Sastrón y Gómez-Acebo (b. 17 January 2000)
Don Juan Filiberto Nicolás Gómez-Acebo y Borbón,later 3rd Viscount of La Torre (6 December 1969 – 12 August 2024)[16][17] he married Winston Holmes Carney (b. 1970) on 2 January 2014. They separated in May 2019.[18]
Nicolás Gómez-Acebo y Carney,later 4th Viscount of La Torre (b. April 2013)
Don Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 15 June 1971) he married Bárbara Cano y de la Plaza in 2002. They had three sons, Alejandro (b. 5 November 2004), Guillermo (b. 23 November 2005) and Alvaro (b. 30 May 2011).[19]They separated in October 2025.[19]
Don Luis Beltrán Ataúlfo Alfonso Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (b. 20 May 1973) his first marriage was to Laura Ponte y Martinez (b. 1973) on 18 September 2004. They had two children, Luis (b. 1 July 2005) and Laura (b. 1 July 2006.) They separated in 2009 and divorced in 2011.[20]His second marriage is to Andrea Pascual y Vicens (b. 1980). It took place on 22 February 2016. They have a son, Juan (b. 17 July 2016).[20]
Don Fernando Humberto Gómez-Acebo y Borbón (30 September 1974 – 1 March 2024) he married for the first time with Mónica Martín y Luque on 27 November 2004. They separated in 2011 and divorced in 2013. He married for a second time with Nadia Halamandari on 31 May 2016. From his second marriage he has one child, Nicolas (b. 5 June 2016).[21] They separated in July 2017.[22]
Pilar de Borbón had been supporting international equestrian sport. She was President of theInternational Equestrian Federation from 1994 to 2006, succeeded by HRH PrincessHaya bint al Hussein.[24] She wrote the foreword of the official Spanish translation of the national instruction handbook of the German National Equestrian Federation, Técnicas Avanzadas de Equitación - Manual Oficial de Instrucción de la Federación Ecuestre Alemana.[25]
From 1996 to 2006 she was a member of theInternational Olympic Committee for Spain, when she became an honorary member, and Member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Olympic Committee.[26]
Pilar de Borbón was one of the founders ofAsociación Nuevo Futuro ("New Future Association") in 1968, an international child support organization,[27] and was its president and then president of honor.[28] Until her death, she was one of the leaders and supporters of the Rastrillo Nuevo Futuro event, which provided part of the income that financed Asociación. The event even received the visit of the Queens of Spain, Letizia and Sofia.Rastrillo has always been a place of meeting, solidarity and enjoyment for her, wrote¡Hola! magazine in January 2019. Her last public appearance was in "Rastrillo" on 23 November 2019.[29]
Mossack Fonseca files document that in August 1974, Pilar de Borbón became president and director of the Panama-registered company Delantera Financiera SA (registered May 1969) with her husband as secretary-treasurer and director. In 1993, London-basedTimothy Lloyd who had represented the undisclosed owner of the company said that Pilar de Borbón owned it. After March 1993, the intermediary representing the company was Madrid-basedGómez-Acebo & Pombo [es] Abogados, a law firm founded by Pilar de Borbón's brother-in-lawIgnacio Gómez-Acebo [es]. From July 2006 until its dissolution in June 2014, five days before the installation of her nephewFelipe VI, Pilar de Borbón's son Bruno Alejandro Gómez-Acebo Borbón was director and treasurer of the company.[34][35][36] On 7 April 2016 she admitted the accusations concerning the company were valid but made it clear that she never personally evaded taxes.[37][38]
Pilar was operated for an intestinal obstruction on 2 February 2019 inMadrid,[39][40] and was diagnosed withcolon cancer in 2019, being made public in May of the same year.[41][42] On 5 January 2020, she was admitted to the hospital as her condition worsened.[43] She died 3 days later on 8 January at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, with her family at her side.[44]
As daughter of the prince of Asturias, Pilar was borninfanta of Spain with the style ofRoyal Highness. Later, her father granted her the title ofDuchess of Badajoz, a title of the Royal House that cannot be inherited by her children.
The Duchess of Badajoz's personal Royal Standard isthat of the Spanish Monarch (a crimson square flag) with a swallow-tail and charged with her personalized coat of arms.
Symbolism
As with the Royal Arms of Spain. The first quarter are the arms ofCastile, the second ofLeón, the third ofAragon and the fourth ofNavarre. Enté en point, the arms ofGranada. Inescutcheon, the arms ofBourbon-Anjou.
^Infanta Pilar's actual given name isMaría del Pilar; however, due to the high number of women in Spain namedMaría, as is the convention, she uses the namePilar. For more information, seeSpanish names.
^Federación Ecuestre Alemana (2012). Picobello Publishing. ed. Técnicas Avanzadas de Equitación - Manual Oficial de Instrucción de la Federación Ecuestre Alemana. Picobello Publishing. pp. 278.ISBN9788493672188.
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Spain: Knight Grand Cross of theOrder of Charles III[50]
Greek Royal Family: Dame Grand Cross of theOrder of Saints Olga and Sophia[52]
Two Sicilian Royal Family (Hispano-Neapolitan branch): Dame Grand Cross of Justice of theSacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George[53]
Portugal: Grand Cross of theOrder of Infante Henry[54][55].svg)
Media related toInfanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz at Wikimedia Commons
