Global InformationDuke of Plasencia information
| Dukedom of Plasencia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Creation date | 1476 |
| Created by | Catholic Monarchs |
| Peerage | Peerage of Spain |
| First holder | Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, 1st Duke of Plasencia |
| Present holder | María de Gracia Giacinta Ruspoli y Solís-Beaumont |
Duke of Plasencia (Ducado de Plasencia) is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility. It was granted on 1476 by Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand V of Castile, The Catholic Monarchs, to Álvaro de Zúñiga y Guzmán, 2nd count of Plasencia and also 1st Duke of Béjar, 1st Duke of Arévalo and 1st Count of Bañares, in acknowledgment for his loyalty during the War of Castilian Succession.
The dukedom of Arévalo was forfeit, but those of Béjar and Plasencia where inherited by the descendants of the 1st duke and were held jointly until the 19th century. In 1777, the two titles were inherited by María Josefa Pimentel, 14th Countess Duchess of Benavente and Duchess Consort of Osuna, so the dukedoms left the House of Zúñiga to enter into that of Osuna. After the death of the 12th duke of Osuna, all his titles were distributed by royal warrants among his numerous nephews, as Queen Isabella II didn't want the main heir presumptive, the duke of Alba, to accumulate such an immense amount of lands and titles.
Then, the Dukedom of Plasencia was claimed and granted with grandeeship of Spain[1] to María del Pilar Gayoso de los Cobos. The next three dukes died without issue, so the title was claimed in 1962 by Ángela María Téllez-Girón, 16th Duchess of Osuna, who ceded it in 1974 to her second daughter, María de Gracia de Solís-Beaumont, the former holder of the title, married to Carlo Emanuele Ruspoli, 3rd Duke of Morignano.
- ^ When the dukedom of Plasencia was split by royal decree from the dukedom of Béjar, which did held a grandeeship of Spain, Isabella II conferred it to the dukedom of Plasencia. Soler Salcedo, Juan Miguel, Nobleza Española. Grandeza Inmemorial 1520, Editorial Visión, Madrid, 2008. ISBN 978-84-9886-179-2