Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of BadajozCredit – Wikipedia

Infanta Pilar of Spain, Duchess of Badajoz was born on July 30, 1936, in Cannes, France. Her full name is María del Pilar Alfonsa Juana Victoria Luisa Ignacia y Todos los Santos de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias. She was the eldest of the four children of Infante Juan of Spain, Count of Barcelona and his wife Princess María Mercedes of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.  Infanta Pilar’s paternal grandparents were King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Infanta Pilar had three younger siblings:

Because the Spanish monarchy was in exile after the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and the exile continued after Generalísimo Francisco Franco took power, Pilar spent much of her early life in exile. The family first lived in Cannes, France, and then moved to Rome, Italy. During World War II, the family lived in Lausanne, Switzerland.  In 1946, they settled in Estoril, Portugal. She was styled as Her Royal Highness Infanta Pilar from birth and in 1967 Generalísimo Franco gave her permission to use the style in Spain.

On May 5, 1967, Infanta Pilar married Luis Gomez-Acebo y de Estrada, Viscount de la Torre, at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, Portugal. The couple had met at the home of former Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria whose wife Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela, was a cousin of Luis. The marriage was controversial because Luis was not royal and Pilar had to renounce her rights of succession to the Spanish throne. Shortly after the marriage, Pilar was created Duchess of Badajoz. Luis died of lymphatic cancer in 1991. Infanta Pilar and her husband had five children:

  • Simoneta Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1968), married and divorced José Miguel Fernández-Sastrón, had two sons and one daughter
  • Juan Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1969), married Winston Holmes Carney, had one son, a separation was announced in May 2019
  • Bruno Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1971), married Bárbara Cano y de la Plaza, had three sons
  • Luis Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (born 1973), married (1) and divorced Laura Ponte y Martínez, had one son and one daughter, divorced  (2) Andrea Pascual Vicens, had one son
  • Fernando Gómez-Acebo y de Borbón (1974 – 2024), married Mónica Martín Luque, no children, divorced  (2) Nadia Halamandari, had one son, divorced

 

Infanta Pilar was President of the International Equestrian Federation from 1994 – 2005. She was a member of the International Olympic Committee from 1996 to 2006 and was then an Honorary member. She was also a member of the executive board of the Spanish Olympic Committee. In addition, Infanta Pilar was President of Europa Nostra, from 2007-2009. Infanta Pilar was fluent in English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Infanta Pilar died at the Ruber International Hospital in Madrid, Spain on January 8, 2020, at the age of 83. She had been ill with colon cancer, had surgery in February 2019, and had undergone chemotherapy. Infanta Pilar was admitted to the hospital three days before her death. Her remains were cremated on January 9, 2020, and her ashes were placed in her husband’s family mausoleum beside her husband at the Saint Isidore Cemetery in Madrid, Spain.

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