Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco
| María del Carmen Franco y Polo | |
|---|---|
| Dowager Marquise of Villaverde | |
Coat of Arms for the Dukedom of Franco
|
|
| Duchess of Franco | |
| Tenure | 20 November 1975 – present |
| Heir apparent | María del Carmen Martínez-Bordiú y Franco |
| Born |
14 February 1926 Oviedo, Asturias, Spain |
| Spouse | Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde (m.1950–1998) |
| Issue |
María del Carmen, Duchess of Anjou and Cádiz María de la O Martínez-Bordiú Francisco Franco, 11th Marquis of Villaverde 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, Dowager Marquise of Villaverde (born 14 February 1926) is the only child of Spain's Caudillo, dictator General Francisco Franco and his wife Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès. In Asturian fashion, she is known by many nicknames such as Nenuca, Carmelilla, Carmencita, Cotota and Morita.
Franco was born in Oviedo, Asturias, Spain. On 10 April 1950, in El Pardo, she married Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, 10th Marquis of Villaverde (1 August 1922 Jaén, Mancha Real – 4 February 1998 Madrid). Villaverde was a prominent surgeon. In 1968 he conducted the first heart transplant operation in Spain. The couple had seven children:
Shortly after her father's death in 1975, King Juan Carlos 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, from whom she is twice descended from the Pardo de Andrade branch, and twice again from the 7th Counts of Lemos and Sarria.
In 2008 the Duchess collaborated with Stanley G. Payne and Jesús Palacios Tapias to write Franco, My Father, a biography of her father from her point of view. She described her father as a warm person. With regards to the White Terror, she noted that "he didn't talk about it at home".
...
Wikipedia