Luis Fernández de Córdoba, 17th Duke of Medinaceli


Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert, 17th Duke of Medinaceli, GE, OM, OL, was a Spanish nobleman and distinguished hunter. He was born the world's most titled person since his father, the 16th Duke, had died months before in a hunting accident. He was 11 times a duke, 17 a marquess, 15 a count and 4 a viscount.

Early life

Born as the only son of the 16th Duke of Medinaceli, Luis María Fernández de Córdoba y Pérez de Barradas, and his second wife Casilda Remigia de Salabert y Arteaga, 9th Marchioness of Torrecilla. He was baptised the day after his birth in the parish church of San Luis Obispo of Madrid. He was born posthumously to his father, who had died in a hunting accident some months earlier and as such he assumed the historical titles of the House of Medinaceli from birth.
His mother, who would become the 11th Duchess of Ciudad Real in her own right, remarried the politician Mariano Fernández de Henestrosa, 1st Duke of Santo Mauro, in 1884. Through them, Luis was a half brother to Rafael and Casilda Fernández de Henestrosa.

Marriage and issue

In 1911, he married Ana María Fernández de Henestrosa y Gayoso de los Cobos, lady-in-waiting of Queen Ena, daughter of the 8th Count of Moriana del Río, a Gentilhombre Grandee of Alfonso XIII. The ceremony took place in Madrid.
From his first marriage he had two daughters:
In 1938 his first wife Ana María passed away. He remarried on December 22, 1939, with María de la Concepción Rey de Pablo Blanco, with which he had a daughter:
In 1929, he was granted the Order of the Golden Fleece by Alfonso XIII. The collar he had been bestowed with had once belonged to Louis Bonapart, Napoleon's younger brother.
He inherited his fondness for hunting and horse-riding from his grandmother Angela Pérez de Barradas y Bernuy, 1st Duchess of Denia and Tarifa — titles that he also held when his uncle Carlos María Fernández de Córdoba died. He was an indefatigable traveler, at the same time that he carried out numerous investigations, especially in the field of falconry, and founded the Spanish Museum of Trophy Hunting. In 1927 he was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Exact, Physical and Natural Sciences; His entrance speech was about birds of prey in falconry.
Considered one of the main exponents of big-game hunting in Europe, the duke made expeditions to British East Africa and the North Pole. In addition, he wrote numerous publications on hunting and nature, and in his palace in Madrid he founded a museum of natural history, the collection of which had to be transferred to the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.
After suffering a myocardial infarction, Luis Fernández de Córdoba died on July 13, 1956 in the now disappeared Palace of the Duke of Uceda in Madrid. in Madrid, home of Don Luis, c. 1875 He is buried in the Basilica of Jesús de Medinaceli in Madrid.

Titles and styles

Titleshttp://www.fundacionmedinaceli.org/casaducal/fichaindividuo.aspx?id=263 Fundación Casa Ducal de Medinaceli: Luis Jesús Fernández de Córdoba y Salabert, XVII Duque de Medinaceli

Dukedoms

, 1908
cordite.465 Nitro Express, 1909

Ancestors