Grandee of Spain
The Grandes de España are the highest ranking members of the Spanish nobility. Their ranks are made up of those nobles holding the most important historical landed titles in Spain. In the modern day, many of these titles overlap or are held by the same person. Strategic marriages have collected titles under certain noble houses over time.
In the modern day, all Grandees have the status 'of the first class'. It implies neither privilege nor power.
An individual is a grandee if he or she holds a Grandeza de España, regardless of possession of a title of nobility. Normally, each grandeza is granted with a title, but this was not always the case. Also, a Grandeza de España is normally awarded along with every ducal title. Several members of both Spanish and French nobility were made Grandees also.
Address
Grandees and their consorts are entitled to the style of The Most Excellent (Spanish: Excelentísimo Señor, male, or Excelentísima Señora, female; abbreviated as Excmo. Sr. or Excma. Sra.). In written form, their names are followed by the abbreviation G de E.[1]
Examples
Grandee Of Spain Media
Equestrian portrait of Isabella II, her husband Francis, King Consort of Spain (left), and Infante Francisco de Paula (right) with the most important Spanish statesmen and army officers of the time, many of whom were Grandees of Spain, by Charles Porion, 1862
Heraldic mantle of a Grandee of Spain
References
- ↑ Data extracted from the Provincial Permanent Council of the Grandeza de España. http://www.diputaciondelagrandeza.es/services.php Archived 2012-05-17 at the Wayback Machine