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Tenure 20 November 1975 – present Heir apparent Maria del Carmen Martinez-Bordiu y Franco Issue Maria del Carmen, Duchess of Anjou and CadizMaria de la O Martinez-BordiuFrancisco Franco, 11th Marquis of VillaverdeMaria del Mar Martinez-BordiuJose Cristobal Martinez-BordiuMaria de Aranzazu Martinez-BordiuJaime Felipe Martinez-Bordiu Mother Carmen Polo, 1st Lady of Meiras Spouse Cristobal Martinez-Bordiu, 10th Marquis of Villaverde (m. 1950–1998) Parents Francisco Franco, Carmen Polo, 1st Lady of Meiras Children Maria del Carmen Martinez-Bordiu y Franco Grandchildren Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou Great grandchildren Prince Louis, Duke of Burgundy, Prince Alphonse, Duke of Berry, Princess Eugenie Similar People Francisco Franco, Maria del Carmen Martinez, Carmen Polo - 1st Lady of M, Louis Alphonse - Duke of A, Ramon Franco | ||
Spanish noble Carmen Franco, 1st Duchess of Franco Died at 91
Doña 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.
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Family life
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.
Controversy
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". Franco is referred to as "Generalísimo" or "Head of State", who was an "intelligent and moderate", a "brave and catholic" man and who established an "authoritarian, but not totalitarian" régime.
Franco chairs the Foundation "Fundacion Nacional Francisco Franco" which is under permanent criticism for its revisionist opinions e.g. by calling the Spanish coup of July 1936 an "armed referendum". Spanish historian Borja de Riquer called this a euphemism with reference to an era in which approximately 140,000 Spaniards were executed in a reign of terror by Falange, Guardia Civil and other fascist organisations. During the premiership of José María Aznar the foundation received financial support from the Spanish Minister of Education and Culture. The funding was terminated in 2004. She is regarded as an icon by the remaining followers of Francoism.